Long Pimps Poems

Epigrams by Michael R. Burch

If brevity is the soul of wit
then brevity and levity 
are the whole of it.
—Michael R. Burch

To write an epigram, cram.
If you lack wit, scram!
—Michael R. Burch

Conformists of a feather
flock together.
—Michael...

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State of the Art (IV)

These are my "ars poetica" poems about the art and craft of writing poetry. 



Hearthside
by Michael R. Burch

“When you are old and grey and full of sleep...”  — W. ...

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Epigrams

Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch

It’s not that every leaf must finally fall,
it’s just that we can never catch them all.

Piercing the Shell
by Michael R. Burch

If we strip away all the accouterments of war,
perhaps we'll discover...

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Medieval Poems IV



IN LIBRARIOS
by Thomas Campion
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Booksellers laud authors for novel editions
as pimps praise their whores for exotic positions.



Brut (circa 1100 AD, written by Layamon, an excerpt)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R....

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On the extremity of  a tall bank 
Of big broken stones in round circle done
We reached up a more cruel clutter flank;

And there, for the horrible and strong stun
Of rotten stench which the deep...

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My RightWing 
all white male dominant
or venus invidiously envious
family

Is way quick to remain gated
away from drug
and alcohol
and automated arms dealers
and users,
black market buyers
and sellers
and renters.

Yet these same straight 
boxer whitey patriarchs
are curiously too tidy comfortable
with...

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The victim list keeps growing

But no one really cares

The gristmill claims another one

Keep your hands in and don't stare

Hollywood is the golden land

The eternal silver screen

But many souls are lost here

A lot of greats or...

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The fruit juice drips momentarily beneath the alter filling the crevices and corner, while the sound of impatient traffic rolls down the street honking horns and disrupting the peace. A strange sound starts rumbling in...

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They have been playing a dirty game for years because they have nothing  of depth to share, they have been playing a dirty game for year, without conscience,  love or fear. They make...

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silent issues

humanity
and the hypocrisy
of soft tissues

openly
running out of paper rolls
secretly
disgrace on humanity's cheeks silently rolls

there's a monument
on earth
to the unknown soldier

there's a monument
in the firmaments
to the unknown child 

a well known secret

a hood by night...

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THE CHAMELEONS
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


Give credit to the chameleons, they blend right in 
A simple maneuver, changes the color of their skin
No matter the surroundings, one thing is clear
You may not see him, despite him being...

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Unquotable quotes: Witch-Doctors and Tribal Headmen – XXV (Part Two)

Which Asian “King” would crown himself “Emperor” during an elaborate theatrical ceremony while facing and exhorting the ruins of his Illustrious Ancestor’s capital?
Which commoner army captain...

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Sonny hid behind the melons 
In a busy Asian marketplace,
Near the plantains and the mangos 
Where the shadows could obscure his face.  
He inhaled the air around him 
And enjoyed the fragrant scent of...

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A listing of the fires 
and all the survivors 
will be provided

Names of the dead 
are written on broken cobblestones 
at the bottom of the river

The sheet music 
is in the morgue - reconstruction 
of...

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The sky was never the 
limit for those who sook 
to defy the norm. They 
soar to the highest 
heavens like eagles and 
become one with the 
storm. The staffless 
Moses of the black 
parliament...

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"The Drowning Machine"



Pulled from my mouth
a string of raw gold to build a tower
built from one understanding
a united ziggurat of words sucked
backwards played before broken mirrors
translated anti-clockwise slow speed all that babel
an alter laid down...

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Slow and steady that growth this Land,
Of the free and brave at hand,
Manliness runs along,
In his heart a woman’s song,

To her husband does she sing,
Strengthens him when war bells ring,
He fights for justice, stands a’talls,
From...

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This town, this Silk Road had no toll to pay
  yet from the east caravans again fill its
pharaonic marble and glass temples. Monolith

malls rise its clefts, eco-wilderness morph
  into multiplex cinemas; mini golf...

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(Manifesto) 

VIII … stop! - Skid! - Shift knobs, slide gears, vomit numbness, fondle!… the music of 
guillotines!… 

VII … unmannered retching! since everything is a percentage of death in motel prayer-nights 
separated from unholy...

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Paris at 51

Bless me Father for I have sinned
it has been forty years since  my last confession.
My life Hell, I seek Heaven. I ran 
away from home at eleven. Sold my body.
Fell to drugs....

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With all the world 
     ...

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As they began the long ride to the ranch,
his father asked,”Are you all done with that stuff?
’Cause there’s problems at home, even for a man
setting things right is gonna’ be tough."

Luther just nodded to show...

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Moon flower

You lay on white cotton sheets with the hospital logo imprinted
on the cloth and on the fabric of your life talcum powder for
your bed sores anorexic washed out gastric spittle dribbling
from ulcerous mouth facing...

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It's about time we talk of ruins.
So, let us talk, for you never know,
How long ears of hope will remain receptive.

Your lips are missing, and your kisses fall,
Like ripe plums and tint my confession,
Like coffee...

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Martial Translations

Coq au vin (Cook or wine)
by Martial, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

1.
Hosts always invite you to dinner, Phoebe,
but are you merely an éclair to the greedy?

2.
Hosts always invite you to dinner, Phoebe,
but are...

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