Long Tears in my eyes Poems

I’m in distress
I can’t express
How I feel deep down inside
This feeling is a terrible tide
How do I impress
Everyone here in excess?
I’m just here to simply abide
By God’s Law, I don’t subside

My tears are diamonds in...

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Poems about Flight, Flying, and Birds



Flying
by Michael R. Burch

I shall rise
and try the bloody wings of thought
ten thousand times
before I fly...

and then I'll sleep
and waste ten thousand nights
before I dream;

but when at last...
I soar the...

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Poems about Fathers and Grandfathers I

I translated the first six Native American poems for my father when he chose to enter hospice and end his life by not taking dialysis …


Cherokee Travelers' Blessing I
loose translation/interpretation...

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“The Fallen”



Remote,
he sees himself 
in the reflection of cold close 
yet distant shop windows, 
his final journey along the 
Hard Time Road
walking alone, 
unforgiven, no home
for the rest of his natural life 
a million knives...

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Native American Translations

Cherokee Travelers' Blessing I
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

I will extract the thorns from your feet.
For yet a little while, we will walk life's sunlit paths together.
I will love you like my own...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems IX

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

Shock
by Michael R. Burch

It was early in the morning of...

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For All That I Remembered
by Michael R. Burch

For all that I remembered, I forgot
her name, her face, the reason that we loved ...
and yet I hold her close within my thought:
I feel the burnished weight...

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Salat Days
by Michael R. Burch 

(dedicated to my grandfather, Paul Ray Burch Sr.)

I remember how my grandfather used to pick poke salat ...
though first, usually, he’d stretch back in the front porch swing,
dangling his long...

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Sonnets XC-XCVII

Artificial Smile
by Michael R. Burch

I’m waiting for my artificial teeth
to stretch belief, to hollow out the cob
of zealous righteousness, to grasp life’s stub
between clenched molars, and yank out the grief.

Mine must be art-official?zenlike Art?
a...

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Remembering that day in May - when I became corporate prey
On this unforgettable day - an innocent child was thrown away
Last night as I lay in bed - I read the news here's what it...

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Chinese Poets: English Translations

These are modern English translations of poems by some of the greatest Chinese poets of all time, including Du Fu, Huang O, Li Bai, Li Ching-jau, Li Qingzhao, Po Chu-I, Tzu Yeh,...

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     We sat at the end of the bar in a seedy place on Seventh street.  Nursing our drinks, we both had a bit too much that night.  My...

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Film Noir

By the lampost at night
with the pale moon shining bright
but obscured by the fog
I saw her in the harbor
standing where my boat lay moored
but she knew that
her azure eyes beckoned me to come
smoke from...

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It was Christmas Eve and I was at the airport,
Not a soul in sight, almost deserted, it was 10.00 pm,
Only two hours before Christmas day,
Perhaps if I got on a plane, I would see Santa...

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TRIGGER WARNING this piece features active addiction, the struggles etc 

I Can't stop screaming, sobbing the pain in my stomach is excruciating,
Eventually Im assigned a bed to be left in whaling, waiting, 
Finally a nurse...

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Film Noir

By the lamppost at night
with the pale moon shining bright
but obscured by the fog
I saw her in the harbor
standing where my boat lay moored
but she knew that
her azure eyes beckoned me to come
smoke from...

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I am having that dream of dreams again
The one that wakes me up in the night
                   ...

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He stood and aimlessly watched the parade of patrons and volunteers that wandered daily past his kennel.  All so familiar, so ordinary.  Just like every other day he mused.  Nothing new. ...

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Huge fluffy clouds began to form over 
Sanibel Island as the salted gulf splashed 
against the rocks around the lighthouse 
coastal waters rose up as a calming coolness 
carried this gentle warm breeze over to...

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The half elf watched as Lumi spoke with Chroí; then, in the center of the circle the soil began to move and from it appeared the Garden Elf.  He said nothing, he never spoke....

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In the morning, he was tetchy, but gentle,
Sitting beside me till my eyelids opened
I sat up, yawning, and rubbed my eyes
His hand brushed a dry tear off my face

“You are alive and well, I see,...

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When I first awoke in this hospital, they tell me I had stared straight ahead and never uttered a word. I was in shock for a while, but now Dr. Albright, the therapist assigned to...

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I never saw it coming, but as people say you never do, I made the mistake of ignoring my heart, and fell in love with you
I tried to deny the way I felt, but you...

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I didn't know if I was blessing blessed being lesser or cursed, (Yes I did)
Or was I overwhelmed in my mess or ( I was being elated)
With the power of the Father
I was being overjoyed...

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For several years I'd worked as a life coach, assisting clients day by day,
Like blazing colors in the shank of the evening, chases deep blues away.

It was an occupation that I enjoyed, as helping others...

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