Long Tardiness Poems

Epitaph for a Palestinian Child
by Michael R. Burch

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.



Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch

It's not that every leaf must finally...

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My protagonist today,
a Gay Black Religious Mature Male,
not quite ready for silver-grey Obama temples

Is off this morning
to a new full-time job,
8 to 5,
Monday through Friday.

He has been out of his calming,
regular custodial collared routine,
for over...

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Athenian Epitaphs

Mariner, do not ask whose tomb this may be,
but go with good fortune: I wish you a kinder sea.
—Michael R. Burch, after Plato

Does my soul abide in heaven, or hell?
Only the sea gulls
in their...

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The Pictish Faeries
by Michael R. Burch

Smaller and darker
than their closest kin,
the faeries learned only too well
never to dwell
close to the villages of larger men. 

Only to dance in the starlight
when the moon was full
and men...

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I don't know what came over me that day - an instant of weakness after years of resistance, I suppose.

My beaming spouse leads me, a dog on a short leash, into the forbidden citadel, the...

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MICHELANGELO: Modern English Translations

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is considered by many experts to be the greatest artist and sculptor of all time. These are modern English translations of his poems and epigrams by Michael R. Burch.



SONNET:...

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Several days passed as DynDoeth awaited a response from Seileach concerning his request for a private audience.  He checked and re-checked the argument that he would make to have the throne replaced back into...

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Off fish hill Daylight saving time 2025

min(no) newt effect on me.

As part and parcel of terpsichorean repertoire,
one whirling dervish 
flaps his wings at the speed of sound.

With twenty three hours
Sunday March 9th, 2025
essentially 2:00:00 to...

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From the school of Hard Knocks, Life's University;
A student of progressive learning, a grad to never be.
For this course of study, there is not an end,
Until my time is up with hope to Heaven, I'll...

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Daylight savings time more'n minute effect on me

In 2024, daylight savings time will begin at two o'clock ante meridiem on Sunday, March tenth. That will mean losing an hour of precious sleep and moving the...

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Epigrams/Epitaphs

Childless
by Michael R. Burch

How can she bear her grief?
Mightier than Atlas, she shoulders the weight
of one fallen star.

***

Laughter’s Cry
by Michael R. Burch 

Because life is a mystery, we laugh
and do not know the half.
Because death...

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Daylight Savings Time 2023...

in Pennsylvania will begin at 2:00 AM 
on Sunday, March twelfth
and moost likely will impact
min-née-ute effect on me
a run of the mill on the Floss
amazingly gracefully aging
long haired pencil necked geek,
who welcomes...

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Father time legendarily and Omni potently 
 existentially linkedin, binding cradle to grave 
since advent of homo sapiens, the whiffed bald credo 
 an employee most adhere ta have 
and keep source of income, subtly...

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This white rabbit is having a hell of a day.
It started out good but ended in a bad way.

I woke up feeling marvelous and grand,
dressed up in my waistcoat, with my pocket-watch in hand.

I soon...

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just moments ago, a dawning realization
     arose within this sol son begat
from ma late mother
     and octogenarian widower father,
     oh..no nothing cat

tuss strophic,...

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Cucu, maitu 

Now that am older
I seek more answers 
In the same manner I did 
Those days gone, of fetching firewood to cook a cherished meal
I seek more answers 
Not in the manner I did
Fetching...

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A MAN WHO FAILED TO LIVE 

I have lived life like a trader with many a crate of eggs 
Treading carefully to avoid the judging eyes of men
A freedom from condemnation have i consciously begged...

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Obituary


The following notice recently appeared in the Toad Suck Monthly News Express. The management apologizes for the tardiness of its publication:

Ms. Villonia Beebe has passed away,
She was Toad Suck's most famous attraction.
Born May 26, 1900,
Died...

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(in memoriam, Eugene Lawler, d. January 29, 2012, aged 83 years)

--- Note:  "The singing machine" is a not so tongue-in-cheek reference to Gene and his penchant for singing whenever and wherever he wished, as...

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At Last

Over ten years, hanging out on my coffee table.
Finally, one thousand four hundred and sixty pages,
collecting dust, in-between, in conclusion are able
to join two dozen, previously read, in various stages.

During these years, I did...

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Please don't ask  me to mince my words
If you talk crap I'll call you all  turds.
I'll say how it is, I'll make no bones,
I'm not a believer of glossed over tones.

You've been hired...

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U.S.S. Wasp (CV-7),
A proud ship she was
Near 15,000 tons
Sailed by proud American sons...

My Uncle Bud sailed on her,
Until she met her sad fate,
It was Tues. Sept. Sixteenth, NineteenFourty-Two
As she sailed the sea
With proud and brave...

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Casualties of war


Godlike?  No.  Human?  Maybe.
Yet living above the bones of dead babies.
Who fell to their deaths from the top of the world,
The forgotten, the miscarried, the unfortunate boys and girls.


Now the...

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If Simply…..
All mortals could really sight
The greener immaturity of grass
Not just mere toil to feet
Of such as to graze concrete
To stand and examine
Instead of unswerving past
Or conscience of view
To an open setting so blue
Therefore it...

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Reginald had arrived in time with his cane searching the marble floor

Strong and bold past his age with his dream ready for ascension

Nestled the rings and went over his line one hundred more times

An organ...

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