Long Sentinels Poems

If God
is good
half the Bible
is libel.
-Michael R. Burch

*

Willy Nilly
Michael R. Burch

Isn’t it silly, Willy Nilly?
You made the stallion,
you made the filly
and now they sleep
in the dark earth, stilly.
Isn’t it silly, Willy Nilly?

Isn’t it silly, Willy...

Read More

Willy Nilly
by Michael R. Burch

for the Demiurge aka Yahweh and Jehovah 

Isn’t it silly, Willy Nilly?
You made the stallion,
you made the filly,
and now they sleep
in the dark earth, stilly.
Isn’t it silly, Willy Nilly?
 
Isn’t it...

Read More

Beckoning
by Michael R. Burch 
 
Yesterday the wind whispered my name
while the blazing locks
of her rampant mane
lay heavy on mine.
And yesterday
I saw the way
the wind caressed tall pines
in forests laced by glinting streams
and thick with...

Read More

1.

                                  ...

Read More

You, Mariana—deepest trench of my knowing  
   I call you by name not to possess it
but because it is the only prayer  
   I have ever known how to...

Read More

"Birthing the Vortex"



the complexities of a myth
borne from the birth 
of amorphous seat 
in dark matter brain

storming dimensions never seen
merely guessed, intuitive, unblessed
visage of a lost majesty
she’s returning to true self 

all wrapped up in...

Read More

Marching out of the cloaked shires
Of landowners, stockbrokers, 
Hereditary Peers, and ruddy faced 
Squires:
A vast multitude of many varied 
Tribes.
Amassing in the great cities, where,
Inhabiting shadowy chambers, 
Behind nodding sighs and hushed 
Whispers, 
The Masonic...

Read More

(With Wormwood Dreams)
The fire and ice, heaven and hell equinox calibration of scales, scorched Earth
beneath a sky of epic fail of primary colors in triple beam, sale, cine-scene-
totem of hierarchial Archangels of Destruction of Kingdom...

Read More

SPRINGTIME MEMORIES



Mountain sentinels
By ancient town;
Clear waters cascade


Cobblestone streets
Winding pavements;
Trade offerings buzz


Fertile plains
Crystal clear waters;
Shady trees guard


Treasure-hunting stroll...
Through Lijiang Old Town;
Curiosity detours


So many things to see
Pleasant fare tempting;
Buying spree bargains


Artisans at work
Township flings open trade;
Silver metal...

Read More

kaisers, kings, emperors fight for territory
  dispensable bodies left in the ground on foreign soil, unreturned
  militarisation of memory and folly
  an Irish nation half-wrenched from a bloodied and wearied empire
 ...

Read More

The Freedom Caucus

Like staunch sentinels they stand 
Around a center speaker, a white-haired man 
With microphone poised and voice steady
To speak of a vote and not being ready.

“We have bad news regarding the bill
To fund...

Read More

These are poems about war and defenses.



Defenses
by Michael R. Burch

Beyond the silhouettes of trees
stark, naked and defenseless
there stand long rows of sentinels:
these pert white picket fences.

Now whom they guard and how they guard,
the good Lord...

Read More

Written: January 12, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Ink Empress
Quote by Poet: " Let the tempting appeal of Jasmine ignites your inner ambition and drive for success".
        ...

Read More

...inspired by and in dedication to ~  Victor Buhagiar, Robert Lindley (my mentors) and the rest of the PoetrySoup Family...thank you for your kindness and support...

A Tribute To Edgar Allan Poe... by ^WW^ Winged...

Read More

this is my song,
  my love song of you,
    my land, my heart

             love for green ferns
  ...

Read More

                 Eternal skies tease the ground below, 
shows shelf lustrous in the waters eye, in aroused reflecting cameo, 
seducing...

Read More

Beneath the illumination of the elliptical moon,
Within the cove of diamond bay, waves gently sway
Back and forth, under the oceans clarity of the big blue,
As the surfs foam and spray roll against the white sandy
Beaches...

Read More

Sire she's been sighted
two miles south of Sinai,
our sentinels say she has brought a river,
her baggage train stretches into the ancient sands,
the envoys of her retinue spoke of marvelous gifts,
beasts and creatures of the Orient
gems...

Read More

Padraig's Fire

Hurry!
Hurry through the night
With windstorms
Breathing at your back
Before the shadows know
You pass their doors -
Their darkened, dusty, empty hearths -
Before the dawn ascends -
Before the pipes awaken;
Carry close
Precious flint and tinder
Next to the wildly...

Read More

Stretching at the very heavens are the braches of autumn,
It is becoming the season of death, and mother natures promise
Of rebirth is with drawing, leaving nothing behind but stilled
 Whispering echoes.
The very ground itself grows...

Read More

Skylights warn and warm where acorns drip. The slight angle of acidity in the air can be measured accurately with a ruler or the nib of a ball point pen. Ball point pens are not...

Read More

In the twilight of this dream world, where shadows whisper through the wind,
I wander through corridors of reflection, each turn a portal to forgotten realms,
The stars above, like ancient storytellers, weave tales of love and...

Read More

Window Teacher
                      by Odin Roark

As teacher
She was petite
Unassuming
Framed in layered paint
No make-up on her
Save...

Read More

In the night I’ve heard them whispering,
Echoing voices carried upon the breezes of the softened
Winds, the detached, disembodied begging for helps
Resolve.
Within the rustling leaves of fall, a crispness of winters
Chilling breathes stinging and biting, at...

Read More

18.
We share a time of loving grace, 
each night, love’s dream we do replace, 
yet still, within a moonlight space
We behold, a mighty, green expanse, 
where we shall share loving romance, 
once more we shall...

Read More