Long Recited Poems

Limericks
by Michael R. Burch



Clyde Lied!
by Michael R. Burch

There once was a mockingbird, Clyde,
who bragged of his prowess, but lied.
To his new wife he sighed,
"When again, gentle bride?"
"Nevermore!" bright-eyed Raven replied.



The Platypus
by Michael R. Burch

The platypus,...

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Limericks III - Grab Bag

Being a peace activist, I once wrote a limerick in an attempt to stop needless wars:

Of Tetley’s and V-2's
(or "Why Not to Bomb the Brits")
by Michael R. Burch

The English are very...

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Winter
by Michael R. Burch

The rose of love's bright promise
lies torn by her own thorn;
her scent was sweet
but at her feet
the pallid aphids mourn.

The lilac of devotion
has felt the winter hoar
and shed her dress;
companionless,
she shivers—nude, forlorn.

Published...

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You Never Listened
by Michael R. Burch
 
You never listened,
though each night the rain
wove its patterns again
and trembled and glistened...
 
You were not watching,
though each night the stars
shone, brightening the tears
in her eyes palely fetching...
 
You...

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Rosalia - The Evil Black Witch of the Harz, Part Two

Rosalia’s Instruments of Evil and Debauchery
Rosalia needed certain tools or instruments of evil and debauchery to successfully pursue her nefandous plans of bringing the people...

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'You've thrown me over the edge of the highest peaked cliff imaginable
As I spiral further down, my outer shell gets roughed up
by sticks and stones
until my body is disfigured beyond recognition
as if I'd been torn...

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The reading of Villon poems at West Berlin’s Free University, Winter Semester 1957-58
                      ...

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Self-pardoning rights of predators and pirates
emperors and kings
CEOs and wealthy competitors
follow our over investment
in separating natural land and bodies
from oceanic surfing inside spirits,
yang ecopolitical strength of communal sight
from yin personal flow of sound,
resonant orthodox positive
and
negatively...

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1	A plume of dirt and grime envelops sky;
		The hellish slug of gas does creep along.
		It casts an orb three hundred stories high
		Over the Sun and ends his morning song.
		The birds and trees now stand a...

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Memories Of Youth And Nature, Were A True Blast
In collaboration with Robert Lindley

Beautiful dawn a Nature walk would do one good
Across the flower filled pond, into the woods
With hearty breakfast, soul could be truly blessed
This...

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Don’t look at me
As though I am an alien or a stranger,
Don’t let the dagger of antipathy
Fly out of your eyes.

I am your neighbor.

Don’t call me a foe, an antagonist, or a rival,
Don’t roll up...

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In the obsidian abyss, I melt, feeling the warmth that embraces me,
Awaiting the flight deep within me, a dream without any hope to measure.
Beside my own self, inseparable in this boundless world,
In an eternity without...

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The old sorcerer was teaching his apprentice a lesson about the moon, but as usual the subject drifted, this time, to witches. “How would I know a witch if I saw one?” The apprentice asked.

“It’s...

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ADDENDA
READING ALOUD Reading a poem silently ( as  compared to aloud)is the difference between staring at sheet music and playing the music on an instrument.Recitation  equates poetry to the experience of viewing a painting or...

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Memories Of Youth And Nature, Were A True Blast,
In collaboration with Riabi Dziri, Besma

Beautiful dawn a Nature walk would do one good
Across the flower filled pond, into the woods
With hearty breakfast, soul could be truly...

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Father left when I was eleven. It was at this time
That I began regular jaunts to grandma's house.
Mom worked; and, my older sister was pure slime.
Grandma was wonderful, but, as silent as a mouse.

It was...

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We came not for conquest,
but for containment—
though conquest is what happens
when containment itches beneath the skin
like sulfur spores in a sealed lung.

They had the secret.
Not gold, not weapons, not prophecy—
but language that healed.
Real language—
not poetry,...

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I was asked to read some poetry down at an old folks home,
Where they'd lost need for toothbrushes, and naturally a comb,
That is the blokes of course, who are gummy, stooped and bald, 
And closing...

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American Thanksgiving (1621)

Passengers in England boarded the Mayflower
To sail across the Atlantic to the New World,
And escape religious persecution for their faith
In worshiping God, which they believed to be righteous,
With separation of God and King,...

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Are We To Believe Lies Dark World Has Told

When I hope for goodness to always win,
Ride my old horse well before break of dawn,
While nature gifts its beauty of a fawn
Am I to be chastised...

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Stokey 2014

I am working the door

At an all night bar

Sometimes I think I have spent too much time alone.  These long nights remind me of flowers and effigies. I drink too much.  There’s...

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Dolly Maintained her ravenous 
Appetite and gained weight.
Damian kept the new
 refrigerator Stocked with fruits 
vegetables Exotic foods and 
other goodies. Two days had
Slowly passed. Damian finally 
Assembled the crib. 
"Baby shower Time is upon...

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Her indifference was merely a façade,
Mine too, if truth be asked, it might have been.

The day had been an autumn harvest festival,
A ballroom packed with clichés ringing as bells
A banner was strung across the sky...

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Another long weekend’s upon us and we’re ready, set to go,
To get amongst the bream again, along the river Tambo.
Our adrenaline is rushing and we’re really bloody keen,
To celebrate with fishing while, we’re toasting to...

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Birthday Poem to Myself
by Michael R. Burch

LORD, be no longer this Distant Presence,
Star-Afar, Righteous-Anonymous,
but come! Come live among us;
come dwell again,
happy child among men—
men rejoicing to have known you
in the familiar manger’s cool
sweet light scent...

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