Long Red faced Poems

Sonnets XVII-XXIV

Discrimination
by Michael R. Burch

The meter I had sought to find, perplexed,
was ripped from books of "verse" that read like prose.
I found it in sheet music, in long rows
of hologramic CDs, in sad wrecks
of long-forgotten...

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Date:   April   2026

The 1st degree is unknown 

Damian and Polly had planned
The trip to the Copy Cat Club
For weeks with Dolly and Molly
The club was popping when
They hit the scene.
The DJ...

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I remember my cherished Wolf Cub pack, 
How I loved those Wednesday evenings, 
The games, the pomp and seriousness of the camps, 
The different coloured scarves, sweaters and hair 
During the mass meetings, 
The solemnity...

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Newsflash:
"Stranger times have never been
As humanity battles forces as yet unseen..
Not just those things beyond our eyes
But hidden troubles that wrestle for our lives.." 
---

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Glory to the New Born King 

So...

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Two young newlyweds Samantha and Ray
On honeymoon went camping to the Bay
But as they were rocking
Strong winds came a knocking
And left them nude as their tent blew away

Both were red faced and on the ground...

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I saw a colonel in shadows arms dealing
I saw a chain of command red faced and reeling

I saw a disaster, the flight of the damned
I saw the wreckage strewn where it had slammed

I saw a...

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"Look, Grandma! I can see them! You were right! They do steal!" I jumped up and down in all excitement. Grandma grabbed the binoculars from me, pressing it as close as she possibly could to...

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“Azure blue sky dreamer.
Where you bound today of mystifying  days?
Can you hear me through that enigmatic fog?
Your Milky Way incarnate hyper trance phase.”

“Fellow wonderland  adventurer.
I’ve been pole vaulting otherworldly golden orb frontiers.
As I...

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The new sheriff of Poetry Soup
 Rode into town on a horse named Snoop
 Jan was on his wanted list
 And the gang she did enlist
 In writing lim'ricks about poop
   He found...

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How, I wonder, do present people not
realize that what they do has been done?
That all their new fads, their new ideas,
have all had their day under the sun.
That we have lived without religions,
that gay unions...

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They’re motives of the weekend - they’re a gardener’s saving grace,
buzzing up and down and ‘round and ‘round cleaning up the place.
There’s nothing like the latest smell of a freshly mown down lawn,
once you ease...

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Were you even supposed to return here? 
It feels like you should be noticeably 
different, even if just slightly, improved—
a worm seeking escape from a hooked fate, 
its visible squirm an apology for not bringing...

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My mind's a naturalistic blur;
    She is a hazy green image
    pressed up against the lens
    Our hands press against each other
    only...

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THE SOUL OF A CHILD By Satis Shroff

They called me the ‘harelip monster’ at school,
And the schoolkids kicked me down the stairs.
I’d often come home bruised;
The children of my age called me:
‘Lakhe, the red-faced monster,’
Some...

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I spend time with a friend 
well, a pseudo-friend 
an acquaintance of sorts 
no, I guess he'd be a friend, 
shit, who knows 
one of those types you never really share your heart 
that authentic...

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The Generation Gap

The fragile, flawless ice encased 
the crumbling soil below
And with it brought bitter winter’s taste – 
the seed that wouldn’t grow.

Many a foggy year ago, 
the father had bought the plant
Had carried it,...

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The wire mesh gauntlet made an unusual whistling sound,
Before making contact with the old man’s face.
The power invested in the swing was evident by the distance,
He flew, which possessed a certain element of grace.

Blood splattered...

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Awakening Contemplations

Perception of reality changing in a second 
The Invention of congeniality as I wait for you to beckon 
The Australian informality of “yeah whatever you reckon!”
The North Korean missile strikes looking to constantly threaten...

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hanging in the air
humidity’s heaviness . . .
the river’s slow crawl


On the Mississippi lies the beautiful little city where I once lived. How many times I trudged up inclined streets; or leaning forward, red-faced and...

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In the dimmed theater, the stage is set
not for a play though, yet a performance 
one of baton, brass, notes, timpani 
the performance I have waited for has come

As the stage lights grow brighter like...

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It’s not just bricks and mortar
Nor a distant memory 
But the ground roots of our livelihood
And our future destiny. 

As this place prepares to close 
When the final bell will sound 
To mark the end...

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Let’s go skiing ! Said my wife 
It gives you such a thrill
So off we flew to Canada 
To face the bitter chill

We took a bus from Calgary
To Banff’s National park
Found our hotel, went to...

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Many years ago my partner gave me an unexpected birthday surprise,
A trip to Lake Windermere, the beauty of it there’s no compromise.

The hotel where we stayed was right on the edge of the lake,
A perfect...

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There I was.

Inside a crowded Toys R Us
On a mid-Winter’s evening

Abrasively loud 5 year olds
And depressed fathers
Ready to throw their “angelic” brethren
Into life-size Nerf basketball hoop
(Because it was on Clearance)
To embrace sanity’s madness

I was simply...

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Ellie was just three months old,
When she was brought to our sanctuary,
A safe haven was our fold.
She was an orphan, her mother,
Her sister, her aunt, her brother,
All chased and shot, and left to die,
From our...

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