Long Sampled Poems

Epigrams by Michael R. Burch



Negligibles
by Michael R. Burch
 
Show me your most intimate items of apparel:
begin with the hem of your quicksilver slip ...



Negotiables
by Michael R. Burch

Love should be more than the sum of its...

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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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Erin, for a girl who embodies Ireland
by Michael R. Burch

All that’s left of Ireland is her hair—
bright carrot—and her milkmaid-pallid skin,
her brilliant air of cavalier despair,
her train of children—some conceived in sin,
the others to avoid...

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THIS WORLD OF DEW

This world? 
Moonlit dew
flicked from a crane's bill.
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Seventy-one?
How long
can a dewdrop last? 
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Dewdrops beading grass-blades
die before...

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Driven by the forces around you driven by the forces behind you
Driven by forces above you driven by forces beside you, driven by
Forces all around you. The mouth is moving up and down but half...

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After winning a sweepstakes, I determined to go on a lengthy trip;
And I wanted to tour the mainland, after I had disembarked the ship.

The countryside was quite beautiful, and had myriad charming towns,
Some with the...

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T Salamander enjoyed local fame
down by the creek, there with her daughter.
Prided herself on her inky black frame,
bathing each day in the cool, brackish water.
She set amphibious cold-blooded hearts
on fire, exploding, through black magic arts.
All...

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The Pods - Chilling Scifi Poetry

Fear, you are weightier than gravity
in pulling the stomach to the ground.

Rotors slowed and sound waned 
as the helicopter sided, meeting the concrete
in a road ripping, heart stopping flame.
A distant...

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imagine, wonder, ponder, think
  nebulous nothing is "surely something"
  more than absence, spontaneous spawning on the brink
  let's fantasise, let's dream awake
  utter the dubious name of nothing
  impostor corralled...

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The water mark is still evident on the wall
You can still see where the rain had fall
The stain must have been there for many years
And every time it reappears 
Sending chills into my ears
It embraces...

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I'd almost forgotten, how fondly this little hamlet
snuggles tight against the purple hills, and how State street
divides the town into two parts, like a pizza, one half a progressive present,
and the other half, the antiquated...

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The hypnotic sleep-walk will diagnose this flaccid imp in me
All the recantations will die there where selfishness butchers the prophetic shields
As If I were to go through the film of yesteryears...
The sandy beach anchored in...

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Because the mind still stays
The memory of the holocaust,
And the face reflects the twinge that still lurks
In the hollow of our frail hearts;
My mournful pen shall bleed
In a forever flow of pensive mood.

We are survivors
Who...

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This was a method employed,
By my last ex-wife,
Who enjoyed 16 years of 
torturing me,
The bane of my life...

See she sat and slept in
her recliner,
The power seat of the house,
And treated me,
Like an annoying mouse...
I was...

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We walk amongst the faithful.
Unknown to human eyes. 
So normal and so human, 
They can't see through our disguise. 
The tears of angels made us 
As they flew down from the sky. 
They didn't want...

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Adjusting Appetizing Palates.
I have sampled the variety,
I am the one who has tasted life;
The one who has had a taste of life.
Rarely indulged in the main course-
Seldom a full meal-
I come hungry-
To leave satisfied...
I want...

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images are slow to fade, where did they go? why were they here?
  pensive pen and ink, a gentle man of measure
  pipe-smoke wafting cool blue persevering pleasure
  cartoon humour designed with...

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Cats from Earth eat fish on sunny beaches
(Umbrellas optional, not included)
Unlike sharks they use tiny teeth to chew
And get motion sickness when traveling too    

Seas hold goodies for feline nutritional needs
(Canned dolphins...

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We faced each other in a circle as
we sat on chairs inside her classroom; then
she had us close our eyes. Perhaps we used
some blindfolds. I’ve forgotten details, for
it happened in my high school years ago.

Our...

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Marriage is much like going to the grocery store to select your favorite fruit…What may look 
good on the shelf? May have a different taste once consumed at home? As I walked through 
the isles...

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Defeat embraces the soul that has unraveled from lies, baring the pure truth.
In the library of destiny, where each heart inscribes its chronicles,
I lingered among the scrolls of loss, in the chambers of vast silence.
A...

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I got this new hand soap, called “Frosted Coconut Snowball.”
It's the dreamiest scent ever.

When I’d unpacked (from Spring break) and had everything in place, I dragged Andy and Leong into my bathroom. Wash your hands,”...

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I sat in restless chairs
I breathed stilted air
what feeling compares
with feeling squandered?

I’m not sadfishing,
I was bored in a 5-star hotel.
I’d swum the Atlantic - in the underground pool
and I felt like I was marinating in...

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Coffee sir? Yes my dear, please……………..
And don't you dare bring me no damn cream….it's straight black coffee for me!
You see, I've sampled brews from all over the world, but the one I chose is just...

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I am emotionally unstable, 
From being wrapped in the clutching grips of this mental psychosis.
I am now vulnerable to the plague of self infliction, 
driving me towards one of my many addictions.
Allow me to pick...

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