Long Tabulating Poems

Radiance
by Michael R. Burch

for Dylan Thomas

The poet delves earth’s detritus—hard toil—
for raw-edged nouns, barbed verbs, vowels’ lush bouquet;
each syllable his pen excretes—dense soil,
dark images impacted, rooted clay.

The poet sees the sea but feels its meaning—
the...

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These are poems about Dylan Thomas, as well as poems "for" and "after" Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas was one of my favorite poets from my early teens and has remained so over the years. I...

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Myth, after Dylan Thomas
by Michael R. Burch

Here the recalcitrant wind
sighs with grievance and remorse
over fields of wayward gorse
and thistle-throttled lanes.

And she is the myth of the scythed wheat
hewn and sighing, complete,
waiting, lain in a low...

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Long in the tooth male doth recount, reflect, reimagine...
his woebegone damn dental daze today May 5th, 2021 

No particular rhyme nor reason
garden variety indentured flunky (me)
revisits his salmagundi salad days, 
when oral blight smote 
left...

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“Auld Lang Syne” - the most-sung New Year's Eve song

Courtesy Robert Burns
circa  (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796)
the National Bard,
Bard of Ayrshire
and the Ploughman Poet.

Two hundred sixty one orbitz elapsed
since brief existence of...

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dark matter(s)
by Michael R. Burch

the matter is dark, despairful, alarming:
ur Creator is hardly prince charming!

yes, ur “Great I Am”
created blake’s lamb

but He also created the tyger
and what about trump and rod steiger? 


The Echoless Green
by...

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so much precious existence 
found me rooted with mouth ajar 
as sigh asper the dentin-cementum 
so mud dear reader (with dem perfect 
enameled pearly whites), aye har bar 
envy for those with a complete set...

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Wordsmith's worst nightmare

fortunately thwarted courtesy 
mine tall tale telling flair.

Mine irretrievable brilliant masterpiece...
all for naught after mental cogs and wheels
I did apply creative juice metaphorical grease
regarding tour de force pièce de résistance writing
forever lost to...

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In the Orient it's called Karma,an inescapable butcher of beasts continuously chopping,slicing & trimming the meat of our mentalities,precisely weighed,
 
Occidentally the official judge of justice is commonly greeted as God,punisher of aggravated appetites,gatekeeper to...

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Black women in America,
let the sterile tabulating machine 
tally your vociferous views
Loud women pridefully possessing 
the highest voting demographics in the amber land
Have your passions changed America’s
cruel grain racial oppression ... 
Are your males still...

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He roars from the distance, instilling in everyone, terror and fear
Approaching stealthily, though unseen, somehow you sense he's near.
Then, in an incomprehensible instant of time, before you can react
The lion lunges at you, the unwary...

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killing for love? we should out grow it 
unless it's for deceivers and you know it
those less fortunate charity recievers
those pretty eye's and nails
masscara  that never fails
those that are witty for a reason
allways dressed...

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In the silence of morning
where the child’s still snoozing
and the Christmas pine’s dark
and I don’t yet have coffee to lift

In the buzz of refrigerator and heater
mostly my eyes scan the quiet room
the room that comes...

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I’ll be just about ready when it’s just about time
To do whatever needs to be done. 
With my Winchester loaded and my bay freshly shod, 
I’m riding off to seek the setting sun.

Since it’s just...

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