Long Small town Poems

Poems of Recanted Bachelorhood

bachelorhoodwinked
by Michael R. Burch

u
are
charming
& disarming,
but mostly ALARMING
since my resolve
dissolved!

*

Disconcerted
by Michael R. Burch

Beth, my sweet,
fresh as a daisy,
when I’m with you
my heart beats like crazy
& my future gets hazy ...

*

What Goes Around, Comes
by...

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Where Does the Butterfly Go?
by Michael R. Burch

for the children of the Holocaust and the Nakba

Where does the butterfly go
when lightning rails,
when thunder howls,
when hailstones scream,
when winter scowls,
when nights compound dark frosts with snow ...
Where...

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There was a little wind fairy who lived in a meadow near a small town, her name was Estella. Estella had beautiful blue hair like the sky, so her friends called her the little blue...

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IT WAS 1984 DURING AN ELECTION CIRO GARGANO RAN THIS SMALL TOWN OUTSIDE GREATLAKES NAVY BASE WITH HIS DRUG CARTEL AND AN IRON FIST OF  CORRUPTION HE BLACKMAILED THE ENTIRE CITY SEVERAL OFFICERS SELLING...

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These are prophetic poems and apocalyptic poems ...



The Vision of the Overseer’s Right Hand
by Michael R. Burch

“Dust to dust ...”

I stumbled, aghast,
into a valley of dust and bone
where all men become,
at last, the same color...

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I am an Outlander
Who lives on a high hill
Overlooking a man-made lake
That once was a rapidly rushing river
Along whose banks the Ozarks Bluff Dwellers and the Osage and then Delaware
Hunted, fished, and created shelter
For their...

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It was a late Saturday morning, and I was getting my 12-year-old self ready for our weekly summer sand-lot baseball game. I had my ball glove hanging on my bicycle handlebars, two baseballs, and my...

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I have so many places/acts dear to my heart
I’m just dying to share some with you
Not to boast, I but honor them, all played a part,
I'm sure helped to bring me in your view!

Tell me...

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The Highways and the Byways
By Franklin Price
10/27/2107
(Inspired by Nancy McIntyre Stepp)

 The highways and the byways
Of this life in which we've grown
Bring back many memories
Of  places we have known

The Interstates most boring
They bypass most...

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[Characters: Thomas, Jesse, Mark]

In a small town of Athens, Thomas and his disciples served the town well, with their Wisdom and Knowledge, by helping out the less fortunate, feeding the homeless, teachings, and gaining more...

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After a hard day at work I come home
Hear my boy rapping the words to his headphones
Every bleep comes another bleep
As he keeps dancing to the beat
Come upstairs and barge through the door
Say to him,...

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"Present!"

It's a lackluster answer (1) to simple life question,
"Hi! How is it going Mom? You feel OK?"
She was lonely for sure, saw no chance of a rescue,
She fought for her kids, though art dreams went...

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Time for a road trip, my  dad, mom and us three kids all packed into our old station wagon. I guess it wasn't so old but it sure seemed that way at the time....

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Lilith Waits   



Lilith waits as she surveys, all her brutal yesterdays

She cruelly paved with stepping-stones of broken hearts and human bones.

Her lips turned up at their red corners, she grins at all the...

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Virgil comes to group therapy every week in his pick-up truck with his dog, Buster, standing in the bed of the truck. The sessions are held for veterans of Korea and Vietnam. Quite a few...

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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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The bright sunrise made the snow-covered Alp mountain-tips, an hour-away-by-car, glow like they were topped with lemon ice-cream. Was this evidence of magic?

Peter (my bf) and I are low atop the five story Hotel de...

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Jack and Sam
were two inseparable souls
Best friends tend to be like that,
especially if both were born on the same day
They were two good looking kids,
who liked to play rough and tumble
Didn't mind scraping their knees...

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Ramapo, New York, a small town
Was rural ... to say the least
Where simple folks lived a simple life
And most residents could rest in peace 

But, tonight was prom night and
The summer evening was unusually cool
As...

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O to tune in to good times of childhood—
To re-live gone-by years, not just to brood,
To lighten dust-laden baggage’s dead tare,
To unburden mind of deadwood afloat, 
To fast-forward to dusky days of old, 
To turn...

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'I'm bored and going crazy,' 
    said the young man to his friend.
'This small town living sucks my soul 
    and grief will be my end.
So something better happen...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems XIII

Davenport Tomorrow
by Michael R. Burch

Davenport tomorrow ...
all the trees stand stark-naked in the sun.

Now it is always summer
and the bees buzz in cesspools,
adapted to a new life.

There are no flowers,
but the weeds,...

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They are conflicted haunted images from black and white photos of America 1933, when there was no place left to run. 

It was the hunger of people lined up, scraps of food ladled out, the...

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March 1985.
The God-voice had been yelling at me to go to the library since I got the third child bathed and in bed,
And I had sat down for one measly second to relax. 
Joe?
What?
Can you...

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Skynard told me, when I was young
To live my life but to live a simple one
Lord knows I've tried but I took a different road
Life can be a mess or beauty can take your breath
But...

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