Long Stanch Poems

A Place Not Meant To Be
           
PART: I            (810 of 1487 words)

#1: A Day...

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Umpteenth heat wave since onset of summer
sizzles Delaware Valley today July 16th, 2024

Said geographical area composed of counties
located in Southeastern Pennsylvania,
South Jersey, Delaware, and
Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Sweltering temperatures
figuratively grip human zoo
bipedal hominids (yours truly,
an olive...

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The garden so beautiful in itself,
Was surely one that never looked the worse.
Most beautiful in the world, 
But it held an evil curse.

The story was long ago,
Bewitched by all to tell.
But in a dark and...

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Q:  Who actually begins the Gog and Magog war in Ezekiel 38:1-3

A:  The word of the Lord came to me. "Son of Man, set your face against Gog,
     ...

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Prometheus
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

obscure Your heavens, Zeus, with a nebulous haze!
and, like boys beheading thistles, decapitate oaks and alps.

yet leave me the earth with its rude dwellings
and my hut...

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JUST CAUSE

Without cause, teachers, classmates, and neighborhood kids mocked at my pitiful station of poorness and entrenchment in painful shyness, calling me dreadful names that chipped away at my soul.

At my first job as a...

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I have this strange feelings twirling in my stomach since yesterday and it will not go away, it is not a feeling of pain, it’s not a feeling of shame or guilt, it is the...

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I sit with you in uncomfortable silence as your mind rips itself apart.
I feel your sorrow deep In my own heart.
I hold your hand as the pain and darkness dims your eyes.
I yearn to soothe...

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You can move on
You can see the light of day
But you've left me behind
Behind in this endless night

You can be strong
Invincible
Indomitable
A cherished hero
Unaffected….
But you've left me defenseless
Weak
Paralyzed by fear

You can go about
Your daily life
Taking the...

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Dream 
        Swim through
          Cream the treats
            And...

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Written: December 12, 2023, For Shadow Hamilton Contest
            _______________________________________

People can only thrive on this wealth scale
With undying faith, we admire our flag
Sullen calm and...

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*Image of Winners of Connecting by Pixabay

Close Encounters of the Best Kind

Anon celebrations plumb us adjusts,
preceding months were more compatible,
familial presence friends superfluous,
plain chat wheedles a bit less fragmental,
pooled consciousness markup valuable,
fruitful homily affect harmony,
ripes...

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We don't know who
To include in the march
So we cancel
All the parades
We don't know how
To stanch the blood flow
So we invest it all
In Band-Aids
Forest for forests --
Tree for trees -- 
Progress always comes
In infinitesimal degrees
We...

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I’ll mutilate my heart, that’s what I’ll do
Cut out that piece that lives and beats for you,
and then I'll simply wait and let it bleed
Perhaps with flow of blood, I will be freed

No suture will...

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#6:  The Day After

As Sol draws the reigns; Chariot of Gold,
and pulls e'er so oft, glitter and specks rise,
it's not yet midday, guess we compromise?
Too late for rise or set, but we're betold,
if there's...

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The unfolding of a bleak mid-night moon, 
Formidable, throbbing, ghostly gray cloud, 
Swirling in rage, with wordless eerie croon; 
Affecting considerable angst shroud. 

Ravens frenzy, divergence flutter coup 
Through impenetrable tangle of trees.
Sinful, depressed, slate...

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Had those eyes never locked…
A fragmentary man I…
A love of my life lost…
Soul Mate…
Inimitable…
Without that stanch passion…
Apathetic existence…

Lives drifting disjointedly away
Corridors leading into the present
Our waters perpetually abound
Farther reaches than the shoreline
Love ardently remitted is...

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“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

Apple Pies

A welcome task past wayward primes where plucked delights
yon mangoes, guavas, and papayas...
stands a Granny Smith...

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