Long Teeters Poems

Erin, for a girl who embodies Ireland
by Michael R. Burch

All that’s left of Ireland is her hair—
bright carrot—and her milkmaid-pallid skin,
her brilliant air of cavalier despair,
her train of children—some conceived in sin,
the others to avoid...

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These are early poems of mine, written as a high school student in the 10th grade. 

as Time walked by
by Michael R. Burch

yesterday i dreamed of us again,
when
the air, like honey,
trickled through cushioning grasses,
softly flowing,...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems by Michael R. Burch



Smoke
by Michael R. Burch

The hazy, smoke-filled skies of summer I remember well;
farewell was on my mind, and the thoughts that I can't tell
rang bells within (the din was in)...

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Move on over ole Joe...

and let the youngbloods take the reins
infusing our promised land with hope.

You done good for America,
serving as laudatory President
from 2020 to the present
Vice President from 2009 to 2017,
and in the United...

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Though no political pundit, nevertheless...

I trumpet the withdrawal
of democratic contender from out the presidential race.

Breaking headline news story
courtesy rumor monger premieres
showcasing emphatic groundswell
against feeble minded incumbent.

Extraordinary turn of current events
immediately enlivens the United States populace
injecting...

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Over harvested fields —

I walk beneath the fading afterglow
of a forgotten lantern   a path worn
by wanderers older than the scroll of Zeno
its damp salve seeping through my coat
into my bones

Fog an Erebian curtain...

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Eminent domain, manifest destiny, usurpation...

Maternal grandfather of mine
long since passed among the living;
He left his Motherland 
before onset of Holodomor,
a policy of the Soviet Union 
aimed at the destruction 
of the Ukrainian nation,
the 1932–1933 genocide...

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Protruding from new fallen rock, where fossil hunters play
And casting long its shadow, as the night gives way to day
This femur from an ancient beast that walked here long before
Perhaps an isolated find… most likely...

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As her EarthDay drum calls out
to inside outside severance

Amid EarthTribe's gathered laughter
and sorrow,
speaking
and listening,
singing
and silent witnessing,

Earth's wealth
leaks nutritional health 
gifts sharing value with every messiah
in sunshine circles
of care giving
and receiving
sacred shifts 
toward cherished bright esteem.

In...

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Eminent domain, manifest destiny, usurpation...

Russian soldiers in general
and Vladimir Putin in particular
perpetrate outright injustice
against Ukrainian population.

Impossible mission to comprehend
the mindset of belligerent, egotistical,
indignant, NeoNazi, tsarist
self anointed totalitarian zealot.

Gross violation of human rights
blatantly carried out
courtesy diabolical...

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March 8th - International Women's Day The World Over

Down to the wire, before this
calendrical occasion doth expire,
though arbitrary twenty four hour
time set aside for guide
ding hand of the supposed/purported
fairer gender, yet human race, yet hide
bound...

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Far into tomorrow
Comes a time of great sorrow
The wickedness of mankind's ways
Brings on the end of days
Leaders pretend to be leading
With the lies they are feeding
Grows a bad seed 
It starts to breed
Let us see...

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Spiritual beings blessed by a grace from on high, angelical creatures
Soaring between sunlight and twilight’s over cast of shadows, 
Hush now be still, listen children of humanity for the swooshing
Of their ivory wings ever lightly...

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the empire has had enough---
having pandered to those occupying for 2 months now,
standing cute & subtle beside, avoiding aggression 
so as to avoid unfavorable photo-ops with those
resisting,
so as to avoid having the footage being posted...

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This is a broken emptiness
So surrounded in fixedness you can't get at it
All I've ever wanted, I'm that
But in disorder
Unoriginal amongst poets
My drama is bound, I won't let it out
All doors remain shut
I dare not...

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The heavens brush by her fingertips
as she reaches for the sky
but her feet stay nailed to the ground
when she stretches past those pearly gates
catching a shooting star in one hand
while grabbing Orion’s belt with her...

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American madness, a fury unbound,
A lost nation teeters beyond solid ground.
We've crossed the stark line, flags droop low and still,
The hour grows late; has reason lost its will?

I walk as a stranger in this fractured...

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Plethora of humans (think overpopulation)
directly linkedin to planet Earth dire strait
re: environmental catastrophe, née debacle
teeters along brink tipping point inevitably
pitching civilization headlong into oblivion
Homo sapiens (minus those living off grid)
admirably self sufficient unto themselves,

perhaps ecological...

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A STORY OF TEENAGE THUGGERY, JEALOUSY, TEASING AND TAUNTING - 
THE DESTRUCTION OF A PROMISING LIFE ................ 


Staggering down the rain-drenched street 
I see you, reeling drunkenly 
like a sailor trying to keep his balance...

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Do you ever think of tomorrow and wish you had a glance?
Tell me if you had a crystal ball would you take a chance?

Do you ever think of yesterday, a song you used to sing?
Embracing...

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Written February 05, 2025
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the depths of my soul, 
a well bursts forth,
a reservoir of ancient...

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No matter unseasonably
blustery March like weather
prevails across my neck of the woods
(Southeastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania)
and across the main body
of these United States of America
particularly original Thirteen Colonies
global warming alive and well
and promises to return
with a...

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Stray not to evil’s dark enticement,
Instead heed what is good,
Against what’s wrong, in the end bereavement,
For those who failed to stood.

Stray not to debauchery’s wild call,
Tis a short road to death,
A body must not have,...

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The industrial hull of the SUV 
Sways with the slightest wind taps 
And pothole shoves. Popeye’s signs, 
Golden shell displays, the lingering smell 
Of Premium-grade gasoline. 
The prices are Down, but our gas meter still...

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SAFELINK TracFone unanimously synonymous...

not only as my lifeline,
and connectivity insurance
with family, friends and strangers,
whereby yours truly
experiences virtual safety net
as would be true
for many purple people eaters,
when havoc unexpectedly strikes
triggering an emergency situation,
where life and death

as...

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