Long Tether Poems

Sonnets XXXIII-XLI

The Folly of Wisdom
by Michael R. Burch

She is wise in the way that children are wise,
looking at me with such knowing, grave eyes
I must bend down to her to understand.
But she only smiles, and...

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MODERN SONNETS II

I prefer the original definition of the sonnet as a “little song” of indeterminate form and length. These modern sonnets vary from more-or-less traditional to free verse.



In Praise of Meter
by Michael R. Burch

The...

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With summer nearly gone, we all wanted to do something special,
And decided it should be daring, rather than the usual and dull.

So, we listed the things we desired to do, but hadn't yet tried,
And we...

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"Kaleidoscope" 

They say another
wrote the story, not I.
that I, mere I,
having little experience, shy 
and far removed from 
such an alien world,
would not possess the knowledge
of such terrible and ruthless, lusty 
characters of strong will;...

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(alternately titled: idolizing childhood's end
today April 25th, 2021
generates elusive warm treasured memories).

Akin to significance my eldest sister
felt toward her “Willies” –
(totally tubular fuzzy bendable contrivances
analogous to an outsize pipe cleaner)
until she became a tweener
my Matty...

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After a hard day at work I come home
Hear my boy rapping the words to his headphones
Every bleep comes another bleep
As he keeps dancing to the beat
Come upstairs and barge through the door
Say to him,...

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For old Star-Gazer Master Khayyam – a name like Shakespeare’s for « some » other giants - Part One

                ...

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("The Visit", Part II)

How can she not know I'm standing so near?
Perhaps, she's expecting the same to reappear
Like before after her being to me kind and sweet,
Because of fear, I made a quick and hasty...

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LOVE Of Our Life

Life’s journey swim links 2 defined moments - birth & death.
To survive its stretch we swim different strokes,
Delivered inner strength combats heavy tides & puncture pokes,
Hidden forces compatibly energize different folks,
Fortifying for...

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When I Was Born in '45
By Franklin Price
08/08/202

When I was born in '45, was another time and place
Merritt Island, I called home, we had not gone to space
Segregation was the way, we lived back in...

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i wanted it...my God i wanted it

...but how do you do that...

                                        

         ...

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Oh to vacation behind the heavy metal door
To escape another election year.
All news is stopped at the door by the guards
Whoever sit in the same place
Waiting
Always
Waiting to retrieve all banned goods
And outside time. 
Between med...

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When In Love's Immense Depths, You Are Truly Cherished
 

Mystical web spun memories of our sweet nights,
love began under stars and brightest of moonlights.
Hold onto that image, its joyous dreaming dreams;
fiery echoes, night trysts and...

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My umbilical scar is hollowed out
Now it's like a tiny wormhole on my belly 
Its a cherished remnant of the coil that nourished me into existence 
I still feel a little tug through my bell...

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As the ship went down beneath the raging sea
The band was heard playing, “Nearer my God to Thee”
As the two slipped below the waves and were gone
The band played on…

Let it never be cried
That his...

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Behold! 

A gaping black-
Curtains of a heaven, drawn
Set adrift
Across the wilt of the zodiac! 

An’ so, she emerged

An’ madness dreamt into reality 
A bow, to tether-
Then glide down humanity
Every heart string, to vibrate an’ tear-
Tooth...

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So take your rose colored glasses off
And see this battle for the withered tulip it really is
There is no leaving this town,
It's got the best heights to fall from 
And the best milestones to lose...

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Enjoy, Florence, because you so great are
That on seas and ground your wings you flutter,
And down in hell your name around spreads far!

I found five, among the stealers’ clutter,
Your citizens which then made me ashamed...

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Mystical web spun memories of our sweet nights,
love began under stars and brightest of moonlights.
Hold onto that image, its joyous dreaming dreams;
fiery echoes, night trysts and pleasurable screams!
Love's greatest truth rests in thy bosom and...

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I loathe feeling under the weather...,

especially when nasty elephant 
(named Thomas the pachyderm)
stomping to break loose courtesy tether,
where antibodies of mine 
struggle to band together
loosely analogous to voters
standing in a queue
waiting to cast their vote
(while...

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On a cobblestone street,
cracked and ill-repaired, 
I rifle antique shops 
  for a jeweled music box 
     to cradle my empty locket. 
I wish to drop it 
  ...

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Stand awed with spirit, soul, and body--- pause.
Physical, chemical, and biological laws
obey God's commands, the trees with applause.

The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost
bear record in heaven, first and foremost.
His created works speak also,...

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In borrowed plumes, a masquerade we stage,
Thoughts echo doctrines, passions preordained.
From broken families, where fractured spirits weep,
Mothers of sorrow, 
With eyes that never sleep.

We inherit canvases, pre-primed with societal skews,
But the brush trembles in our...

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In seventy-eight, my steel-stallion, KZ1000, 
   pride, wind in my hair.
Its Sissy Bar, firm tether, bag secured, 
   my wanderlust's prayer.

Sun, snow, wind sculpt my journey's theme, 
   my...

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Imagine it like a black slug, feeding on me, leeching off what is left of my happiness. Sitting deep in the pit of my stomach growing larger stronger with every day that goes by that...

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