Long Slows Poems

Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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My TransITion began there
right there
in my woodland playground,
when I first knew
something right feels wrong to others.

I was blind to curve-balls
hurled at me.
Being "It" is not why I grow
this TransIt mind and body!

Or, is it?

Could I...

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Speak gently when you offer criticism,
but don't be so soft as to sacrifice the truth.
                    ...

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“In the time when the heart beat slows” 

In the time when 
the heart beat slows
I close my eyes 
and meet you there
that place of aether
the either or,
the conversation 
takes a turn,
all the trees holding
creatures...

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I've never seen a baby so merry as Martha...
They say March newborns are bellwethers for blissful Springs Mary...
Hannah, Haverhill has been a hard place to call home
I'm sorry about Elizabeth's hanging, 
Thomas has honored you...

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From Bitter to Sweet

From one who knows.
The pain of separation – divorce.  One friend said, “death”
would be easier.  The husband of my youth.  There were happier
times.  Fleeting memories, of laughter, sunshine...

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The bones of winter cracked the ice black, coal black night.
A hoary wind spits frost crystals that dazzle and blur the sight.
Boney fingers of bare deciduous wood, scratch against the eaves
as the stranger's tread crackles...

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I'm not good at moon guessing,
but God created many a blessing;
and the moon is just one of them.
I'm neither scholar nor theologian,
but I observed that God made the
heavenly bodies, making no mention
of gender. The words...

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A wail echos into the night.
The sound of pure agony inbedded fright
Stumbling from tears that block sight
The wind stirs nothing feels quite right.

You become dead still and listen intensely
Who is this whats the cause of...

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Silent thoughts


Candles burning brightly bring visions to my eyes.
Shadows dancing in the corners give this room a supernatural vibe.
As I sit here under the covers, all fears are held below;
I gaze into the broken mirror,...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch
 
Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the...

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the war within

spinning...uncontrolably
friends betrayals
I give give give...
they take take take...
fear...aching fear inside
money...****ing money
IRS...college...utilities...everybody
stomach is sour...queezy
children abused...even killed
adults like gangsters...evil
when will it end?
how can we stop it?
troops must live like animals
surviving off the government
government...what a joke
people...

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The Old Prospector, The Crazy Old Fool

Folks said that nasty fool is a damn old bat
times the bastard knows not where he is at
Rumor is he lives in shame for murdering a man
eats lizards and...

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KRAMPUS CHRISTMAS
All hope is lost for children 
If their festive spirit dies,
The Christmas magic disappears 
As they look through older eyes.

No more milk and cookies
Or a sign for Santa`s sleigh,
Or carrots for the reindeer
To eat...

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Written April 11, 2025, for Contest Sponsored by Edward Ibeh

Quote: 1/ “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ? Rumi

           2/ "Many...

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My love and I we took a ride
One beautiful Spring morn late May
Through the winding Maine countryside
We headed over Castine way

We came this way times before
To charming Castine town
Now we had come again once more
To...

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I don't want this to last
I just can't undo the past

Wish I can though
Only God knows I tried...
I'm tired and so low
I shed my tears and sighed

My heart beats on fast
My anxieties are so vast
Whatever...

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(Three Lives, Three Sonnets, Three Friends, Fate's Dark Hand)
POEM 1. Nights Were Our Time Setting Our World Ablaze
POEM 2. When Man Lusts For All, Seeking All The More
POEM 3. Yet A Cure Within Light's Truth,...

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Blackness moving slowly into light!

becoming one existance

The stars gather like flocks of birds.

See the colors mix and mingle

Creating the perfect shades of colors, the

most beautiful blue and yellow.

Funny how words could form such a savage...

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Heaven’s chill clouds hide blazing stellar light.
Winter wet with fresh white flakes falls tonight.
A morose man maunders at his baby grand, 
Keys awaiting the touch of bony hands.

A sunlit melody from two souls’ springs
With a...

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"My Stranger" 
Part 2 -

My friend, you think I'm deranged,
And right you just may be.
But, I just found his prison,
And I must set him free.

So, let me be as I search for the key
That releases...

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Lion Dancing To A New Year

It is that time of the year, you'll know it by the din reaching your ears...
Thunderous gong beats, clashing cymbals that's all you can hear...

It is a most riotous time...

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Once in a time a story begins
So many believe and some repent
People do live in a kind of teases
But a few of them do live of hunt
        ...

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Cosmopolitan suburbs take shape
Seem to form alone, not far from the metropolis
Streets bustle, enlist design by men                  ...

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