Long Pigtails Poems

Where Does the Butterfly Go?
by Michael R. Burch

for the children of the Holocaust and the Nakba

Where does the butterfly go
when lightning rails,
when thunder howls,
when hailstones scream,
when winter scowls,
when nights compound dark frosts with snow ...
Where...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems IX

These are early poems of mine, written in my teens as a high school student and during my first two years of college.

Shock
by Michael R. Burch

It was early in the morning of...

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(A call for the lights to dim as a single spotlight illuminates the legend Judy Garland, who is center stage. She wears a faded housecoat as her beautiful, brandy brown eyes hold a lifetime of...

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My given name is Hortense, and I am an English Professor,
I love my job and my life, and to do my best I endeavor.

I am popular with my students, as I also am with friends;
And...

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Do the Dead see with their own eyes

    for Thadchayani, my poetry-loving doctor sister :  28/08/1929 – 26/10/2014 
            ...

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Written: January 22, 2025 for contest Sponsored by: Kai Michael Neumann

Quote: “In the dynamic world society which is the objective of the United Nations, all peoples must have equality and equal rights" By Ralph Bunche,
...

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You, my Dad, And Me**

Giggles can be heard if I close my eyes and think,
A cute little girl, who still loves the colour pink.

Swings and roundabouts, running from one to the other,
Cheeks all a flush
Holding...

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Flutter dear heart
Let this mystery start
Of entwined lace
And God’s holy grace
With scented chiffon flowing
Smoke from the chimney blowing
And stifled salted tears
From memories through the years.
Melancholy laments
What my love represents.
Indispensable betrothed vows
That soft emotions arouse.
Paradox wandering...

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Drink the poison from my blood, breathe the rot from my lungs.
Take all that has been decaying inside me and nurse it to health like an injured bird.
A child who was once pure, turned sour...

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Alas, a US Marine saved a baby in Afghanistan.
The USA, as a way to say thank you, puts him 
under investigation?

Yes, a true hero, made the horrid mistake?
Of being honored at a Trump rally, ...

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I walk towards you,
as you stand waiting at the center of the bridge.

Beneath my feet, aged timbers span the churning river below.
With each step I see you more clearly.
My eyes search out the younger you,
that...

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Written April 11, 2025, for Contest Sponsored by Edward Ibeh

Quote: 1/ “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ? Rumi

           2/ "Many...

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They talk and talk
Running in circles
Trying to make sense
Of what they have, between the two of them.

They both have a lot of baggage, I suppose
Old wounds that haven’t entirely healed
Memories that tug at them when...

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Looking at an old photo of myself at age 13,
I see a girl, rail-thin, but on the verge of womanhood.
Her hair hangs in long pigtails and she wears a modest top with shorts
as she sits...

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(This is about the same lovely young lady and best friend that I wrote about in "A Pink Rose." I always think about her when I think about roses. Especially pink and lavender ones.)

The very...

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To Shakespeare I give all due respect,
But the world must be a huge theater I suspect.
Woman’s the major player if not the star,
For she influences all with love from afar.
The main acts of her drama...

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"recently scenes of early life have stolen into my mind, like breezes blown ..."
                     ...

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They called it school
I called it hell 
From the huge imposing prison like doors
To the doom like toll of the bell
Everyday the same
Running for the school bus
Full of uncivilized Wild kids
Being pushed and shoved
Countless kids...

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As a teenager, I was so lean and lanky.
My mother worried over my physical stature.
She believed that all the nutrients in my diet,
were rapaciously devoured by my hair.

From childhood onwards, I had long, thick hair
that...

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Frankly Speaking

There is a couple on the beach, they have a small room, been on the beach for years, suffered through the worst of it. They have been through every phase. The Hippie, the war...

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there is a gravity to you
whenever crossing the room
it is an existence that bends light
into an aura capturing my every breath 
a plasma that penetrates every atom within
with memories of long ago
when you first walked...

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He Always Loved Her

The loving man in the neighborhood remembers the day she was born
into the world.  He heard just how happy her parents were that day, 
that week, that year!  He didn’t...

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They don't know my name.

 I keep it hidden between the folds of my skirt. They told me I had to wear it but they don't like that they can't see my legs anymore. I...

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Everywhere she went her hair sparkled. It glistened in the morning sun, the noonday sun, and at dusk too. The waves in her auburn hair were her glory. The freckles on her cheeks even stood...

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Life is a playground, the fun never ends.
Not a care in the world, just run around with your friends.
Doodling on the walls
Playing house with your dolls.
Chasing boys around with cooties
But only those you think are...

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