Long Recite Poems

Poems about Poems (II)

Kin
by Michael R. Burch

for Richard Moore

1.
Shrill gulls,
how like my thoughts
you, struggling, rise
to distant bliss?
the weightless blue of skies
that are not blue
in any atmosphere,
but closest here...

2.
You seek an air
so clear,
so rarified
the effort leaves...

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Poems about Mothers


Mother's Smile
by Michael R. Burch

There never was a fonder smile
than mother's smile, no softer touch
than mother's touch. So sleep awhile
and know she loves you more than "much."

So more than "much, " much more...

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Poems about Poems VI

The Board
by Michael R. Burch

Accessible rhyme is never good.
The penalty is understood?
soft titters from dark board rooms where
the businessmen paste on their hair
and, Walter Mitties, woo the Muse
with reprimands of Dr. Seuss.

The...

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Rejection Slips 2

The Shape of Mourning
by Michael R. Burch
 
The shape of mourning
is an oiled creel
shining with unuse,
 
the bolt of cold steel
on a locker
shielding memory,

the monthly penance
of flowers,
the annual wake,
 
the face in the...

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Every Day You Play
by Pablo Neruda
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Every day you play with Infinity’s rays.
Exquisite visitor, you arrive with the flowers and the water.
You are vastly more than this immaculate head I clasp...

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Date:   January 4  2046

Damali and DJ were active in the 
Small house sprucing up for their
Day. "Hey happy birthday partner!"
Damali jostled DJ. In the main house 
Now 11 morning time. Damian had
Plans...

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Being a “Poet” Can Be Painful!


I’ve likely told you, more than once, that poetry can be painful, and whined about the need for penning verse

That stems from deep inside my soul...fashions every word...and has become,...

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Such Tenderness
by Michael R. Burch

for the mothers of Gaza

There was, in your touch, such tenderness—as
only the dove on her mildest day has,
when she shelters downed fledglings beneath a warm wing
and coos to them softly, unable...

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Poem 1: A Boy And His Painted Piano

he used lively greens
tender blues,
touches of plain mauve 
and rainbow trout splatters
to paint music
on the gas fumes 
that inhabited the clean air
that once use to live there.

he made...

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I was wiping the dust off an old snow globe in the upstairs attic, when a mop of honey-blonde hair suddenly appeared through the wooden flooring.
     "I thought I'd find you...

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Poems about Poets VII

Gallant Knight
by Michael R. Burch

for Alfred Dorn and Anita Dorn

Till you rest with your beautiful Anita,
rouse yourself, Poet; rouse and write.
The world is not ready for your departure,
Gallant Knight.

Teach us to sing...

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Mahmoud Darwish English Translations of Arabic Poems



Palestine
by Mahmoud Darwish
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

This land gives us
all that makes life worthwhile:
April's blushing advances,
the aroma of bread warming at dawn,
a woman haranguing men,
the poetry of Aeschylus,
love's...

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Femme Fatale By A Wishing Well 
  (In The Wastelands Of War)

Warm as breath on placid skin,
Soft as gentle summer rains,
Loud as natures angry clouds
That gather in ambushed lanes,
To confer with the wounded boys
Whose...

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Wouldn't it seem to persist an unspoken personal longing for perfection?
Is insinuated toward poetic supremacy; obviously . . .
I would feel confident in generalizing the presence within us all—to achieve god-like greatness.
I must say, that...

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Oi be nowt but an auld country hick,
we a liddle bit of gall, an a lotta stick.
Oi baint niver afeared to speak me mind,
nor critizise folks harshly iffen Oi find
zummit I don’t loik.  Tis...

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China Tour Diary Moment #1
--------------------------------

KUNMING THOUGHTS


Sunday morning flight to Kunming city;
East bound to explore vignettes of China;
New vistas to sight, postcard memories;
Feast visual galore on tour agenda.

Yunnan province greets our earthly landing;
Brisk clearance and we...

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A KIND RECONSIDERATION 
OF THE ABRAHAMIC FAITHS
IN A DIFFICULT TIME
I
I am interested in Moses,
the baby in the bulrushes
who eventually was able
to speak truth to power and
delivered his people to a
promised land
I am interested in Saul...

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Dr. Zebediah Killgrave, male, human species, 5'11', normal weight.
born in Rejeka, Croatia, charismatic, a physician turned international spy. 
On a mission to infiltrate a chemical factory, he is doused with an unknown
chemical (pheromones) that...

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There is a saying that is well known, and If I said the first few words you could recite the next 10. STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES, BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HARM ME....

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A voice, a silky sweet voice i my ear
a whisper, a whispering question hanging in the air
but there's a conflict of interest
I'm no master nor hero
not even a zero, I'm just a boy
a boy craving...

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From That Dark, Dark Abyss, The Long Black Curtain Rises
 Third poet in my poet dedication series

Part One:
 
Curtain rises and we see as Raven's prisoner, old Master Poe
chained to his cell, held captive by...

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EFFUSED ENCOUNTER


Neither a dream nor a trick, I beguiled--
I reach the sky enameled with golden smile.
To hurdle bumps and curves, I continue to pedal
this steadfast being yearn to step on a pedestal,
I found at the...

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Is to borrow a quote from a hero plagiarism or is it in honor of his memory
Is to but recite the intelligence of a general man forgotten to forever etch it in history
Is it a...

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Then Comes the Lady in Blue


(“...But to the sound of his passing/he sings.  It is a kind of triumph/that he grieves— thinking of the white lilacs in bloom, profuse, fragrant, white in excess of...

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Mommy, if I make up my bed
Which consist of old Sunday newspapers
Could I have, can I have a slice of bread
And if I sweep the floors with my bare feet
I'm so hungry mommy can I...

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