Long Sweeter Poems

Doggerel I or Nonsense Verse

A$$tronomical
by Michael R. Burch

Einstein, the frizzy-haired,
proved E equals MC squared.
Thus, all mass decreases
as activity ceases?
Not my mass, my a$$ declared!



Bible Libel
by Michael R. Burch

If God
is good,
half the Bible
is libel.

I came up...

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Limericks
by Michael R. Burch



Clyde Lied!
by Michael R. Burch

There once was a mockingbird, Clyde,
who bragged of his prowess, but lied.
To his new wife he sighed,
"When again, gentle bride?"
"Nevermore!" bright-eyed Raven replied.



The Platypus
by Michael R. Burch

The platypus,...

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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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You Never Listened
by Michael R. Burch
 
You never listened,
though each night the rain
wove its patterns again
and trembled and glistened...
 
You were not watching,
though each night the stars
shone, brightening the tears
in her eyes palely fetching...
 
You...

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The Moon as a Metaphor for Your Mouth
by Michael R. Burch

When I was closest to love, it did not seem
real at all, but a thing of such tenuous sweetness
it might dissolve in my mouth
like a...

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Date:  July  2049

The expanse of the sky was darkness.
End of July 11 pm.  Dolly Molly
And Holly were keeping an all night
Party pleasant  pressureless delight.
Dolly grabbed the remote for the
Plasma 54" TV....

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(A somnambulistic drama in four acts)

Actors:

Jean-Paul Marat; 
Charles Barbarou;
Charlotte Corday;
1st Philosopher;
2nd Philosopher;
The Commentator’s Voice.

Act 1. A tavern. Two philosopher sit at the table; 
Marat sits at the other, some distance away.

1st Philosopher 

…or even worse:...

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Being a “Poet” Can Be Painful!


I’ve likely told you, more than once, that poetry can be painful, and whined about the need for penning verse

That stems from deep inside my soul...fashions every word...and has become,...

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Here's the deal, folks...
   This is, as indicated, the 2nd HALF of this fairly lengthy poem. Due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations, this piece had to be posted in 2 parts. 
 ...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems VIII

These are early poems of mine, written in my teens as a high school and college student. 

Moon Lake
by Michael R. Burch

Starlit recorder of summer nights,
what magic spell bewitches you?
They say that...

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LOVE POEMS II

These are love poems by Michael R. Burch: original poems and translations about passion, desire, lust, sex, dating and marriage. On an amusing note, my steamy Baudelaire translations have become popular with the...

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NOTE: THIS IS ONLY THE 1st half of this piece-- its 2nd half is posted separately due to Poetry Soup's poem-lengths-limitation. Be sure to check out the balance of this poem = "Tiny Town Events"...

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Imitation! Creative Compliment, Lacking in Originality, or Plagiarism? 

This week takes me back to college days. I was taking a graduate course (as a Physics major)   in 'Modern Poets' at the University of...

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From the window of my chic city office, lost in thought, I gaze out.
The pedestrians scurry like frenzied ants below, caught up in their bustling state of holiday insanity.
In his haste to cross the street...

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Living in a war- wrecked, grass thatched hut,                           ...

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Ali's Song
by Michael R. Burch
for Muhammad Ali

They say that gold don’t tarnish. It ain’t so.
They say it has a wild, unearthly glow.
A man can be more beautiful, more wild.
I flung their medal to the river,...

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As the life of the day nears its last breath,
With a glow of crimson, forewarning its death,
Upon its cresting, the reflection, daunting,
The sea sets free a beauty, haunting
The depths of its treasures of unknown span,
The...

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I have slept but I have not slept
I have not slept but I have slept
For the first time in two years
I slept without a word of care
No codes, no crossroads
No railroads, no shiploads
No lizards no...

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In London Town, a girl was born
Who lost the crown, but won the scorn 
Of Lady Margaret's deep disdain
For something proud, she cannot reign

Her daughter's name was Mary Grace
An angel with a beaming face
Who blessed...

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I was relaxing in my sunroom, one very peaceful afternoon,
Enjoying the fables of Aesop, and all the flowers abloom.

The view from the many windows, was gold sunshiny delight,
With blossoms and rich greenery, and many birds...

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Contend with me while you can 
Contend with me and I will deliver the master plan
Contend with me and I will make you smile
We have been through worse than this
And we have always rise up...

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I opined to my father -


“Hey, Dad,” I quipped, bewilderedly, “last night, believe it or not, Grandpa Jake was watchin’ a film from prob’ly 1930...
When I glanced up from Facebook to determine why he’d growled,...

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Moving on ???

I have come to wonder – as time passes – why ?,
the lady brings tears to my heart – makes me cry.
This lady who took in hand, in holy of holies, in mouth,
resurrecting...

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Say I:

On the websites I used to share, I was frequently amazed 
     Poems got greeted with silence; it seems eyes were quickly glazed. 

It’s as if I’d morphed into a...

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By watching lots of foreign films I’ve seen a lot of places 
I’ve never been…and don’t expect to ever make it to…
But I’d have only made the time, and spent the cost, to see them...

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