Long Slivers Poems

SELF REFLECTIONS

These are poems about mirrors, images, self-image, reflections, impressions and self-reflection. 

Self Reflection
by Michael R. Burch 

for anyone struggling with self-image

She has a comely form
and a smile that brightens her dorm ...
but she's grossly...

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Out in that sky, no one sleeps, not even the stars.

We are at the 24-hour late-nite diner

and they’re serving up fruit

from the plants growing out of the floor.

We watch bodies fall to the ground outside

like...

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Arni Kleftiko Stolen Lamb


The Cypriots and Greeks have a few differences,
And can argue a great deal,
But both agree when it comes to ‘Kleftiko”
It has forever been, the most delectable 
Traditional Greek meal,
That ever a bandit...

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Vanished

the wild magic of this place;

this wilderness I now roam alone
as its lifeblood seeps 
into 
Afterlife

..my mournful howls
across time and distance
go unanswered -
Oh, how I long to join again
in my brethren’s song..

fading sunlight falls in...

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O' Baobab! O' Baobab! O' Baobab
Ace of the furnace, finest of the dynasty 
You strut your breast high
And ply strain against the yearn, 
Against the fire, the desire for sigh 
Haughty, you stand, before the...

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You bite that apple!
Give it a go, put on a show
There is no shame
You said shame is a sham
And clams are happy
Do they hop or skip?
Tripping along the seafloor
Playing hopscotch
Eating numbers like cookies
Chips Ahoy!
Sleeve after...

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Sensing the death of something
That once brought more life than 
The heartbeat or breath, faith
In the beautiful and intimate places
Where light kisses away the darkness
And music replaces the most horrible
Dread with a feeling so blessed,
So...

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"ALL THE LITTLE PIECES OF YOU DIED"

If only there was a way I could have given you a piece of my peace…

Maybe your brokenness would be mended 
with my loving sutures. If only I had...

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Cold, so cold, as everything seems to enshroud me 
encasing light, the flame of life - darkness within.
Slivers of blue, ice my lips, like a frozen lake.
Am I in a nightmare - is this where...

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(What have I done? This is 
all my fault. He has never left 
like that. What if he doesn't 
come back? What about Maya? 
Oh, shit! Maya!) I flew up 
throwing the chair behind me....

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The  sirens are gone now
                             ...

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Looking into the crystal mirror
The girl sees a hollow form in front of her
She is beautiful, with nothing out of place
But is filled with nothing

Eyes of glass blink in union
They are lifeless
Filled with no emotion
Looking...

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I love this
   the bitterness
              that builds
tearing the cords
   to my heart
refreezing it
     ...

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The House That Jack Built (Pt. 2)

During Summer’s sweet vacation and sometimes on a school night,
 When most were safe in Dreamland and the Village bathed in moonlight,
 Nancy would toss gravel near my bedroom...

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We Are The Ghost Dance Poets
  by David Lee Herring (The Powwow Poet)

  
We come together from near and far
Like wise men following the star
from the sweet Grass Hills, We come to be...

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Of first embrace and broken glass
I cherish that first spark
New light upon our forest' dark.

Do you recall that northern wind? 
It came at first so swift
Perhaps our growing light enraged
Poor Hopelessness', her whims denied
Inspired shadows...

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This is the bomb! Wait until you 
Here  you will read hear about the 
Tick of tock of tick the clock is 
Gone lawn the mow  now show
The glow a phone it groans....

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At the kitchen table
Sat still like stone statues – petrified.
A sick game of musical chairs
Sat waiting for the muted music to play again.
Saplings uprooted early; replanted in rows
seated in toxic soil – a stunted growth.
Wooden...

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Football brought shivers to folks in Three Rivers
With slivers of Fall in the air
And the crowd was excited but not so delighted
By weather more cloudy than fair 

A player named Paul was the proudest of...

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Football brought shivers to folks in Three Rivers
With slivers of Fall in the air
And the crowd was excited but not so delighted
By weather more cloudy than fair

A player named Paul was the finest of all
And...

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I awoke a bit firghtened
My senses were heightened
I had heard a soft whirring sound,
As my eyes opened,
I thought I saw three silvery Quarters
Fly out of my bedroom door...

My head felt stung,
My mind seemed full of...

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I hear the defened shattering sound
    of the last piece of my heart
All the tiny pieces will never be found
    gone is my hope of true love
His words just...

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Last Will and Testament

I think ?, I have known all along
that one day, you would be gone,
as the days – for me – where few,
not much left – for me – from you.

Everything I have...

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I've often been told of my strength, 
but when I look in the mirror
I break. I fracture. 
I see the broken slivers slice and cut through my paper skin,
Because I am not strong, I am...

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Do we see the world 
through rose coloured glasses 
Durst cut up the bodies of people
Psychologists say
He must have a mental illness
perhaps but the spanish
conquistadors cut up the bodies
of american indian babies
did they all have...

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