Long Throes Poems

Dad hit me only once, an upper cut to the solar plexus. It nearly lifted me off my feet. I was 17 then and already fairly tall, 6’1.” He was 48 and of medium height,...

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Prolonged offal bout courtesy constipation... redux revisited

Upteenth instance where yours truly
experienced assault upon hindquarters.

A worse hellish fate than perdition
and the closest in the throes 
of agonizing death scene rendition
stabbing sphincter muscle spasms 
wrench yours truly...

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Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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Year One -

Tell me Eve,
does this Garden have everything we need,
do you think the walls are too tall,
are the gatekeepers reasonable, tolerable, right about it all,
what did Lilith know, where did she go
far past the...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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Dream-worker 
delves deeply into my dream;

vibrations fondle anticipation
foreplay wakes wide-eyed 
swells of liquid libido quake the rendezvous edge -
a primordial being in his prime
a masculine ego quest for affaire d’amour;
her night-loving body 
c h a...

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     by how many badbyes can you measure the length of your day

                 first comes...

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I met a proper woman in a proper pub on a Monday in Peoria. It was noon, time for lunch, and we were sitting stool to stool over very large burgers at a long mahogany...

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  Another Cruel Link in their Chain 

1.   Beginnings

Her babe was her joy, such a beautiful boy,
	and he suckled her breast till the end.
The slaver sought cash, bestowed mammy a thrash,
	sold her...

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Alone

For in the end it's just one soul that's passed.
Alone I'll lie in sod of greenest grass
to answer for the sins that I've amassed
at gates of gold I'll see if I may pass.
In to this...

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Ask your friend, neighbour or even a stranger newly-met
Have they ever been damaged by a ‘trust’ ….now turned ‘regret’?
Most men, if not all, have fashioned their character on personal experience
Yet these damned hypocrites are themselves...

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AN ANECDOTE FROM THE PAST...

Names of places and persons have either been changed or omitted to protect identity.

It was a late summer’s night warm and balmy,
Camping we were high in the lofty mountains;
I was lying...

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This poem is featured in Dr. Ivan Edwards' upcoming anthology, Resonance of the Soul: Flowers and Harmonics, published by IEME LLC. The book will be available in e-book, softcover, and hardcover formats upon release. Available...

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Book Three of the THIRUK-KURAL on Un-Authorised (concealed) and Authorised (religion-ordained) LOVE: Cantos 109 THAGAIANANGKURAITHTHAL to 133

(Note: Love between mainly the wedded pair from the standpoint of the fair liana-like “lady” of the pliant bamboo-shoulders,...

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As I pivot to confront my offspring, I anticipate the sight of terror etched in their innocent eyes, a reflected horror that would mirror the abyssal darkness that has long resided within me.

Instead, I am...

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Remorseless sweaty palms

despite being prescribed glycopyrrolate.

Though the angst riddled psyche of mine crafted youth, long since receded, ebbed in the past, infringement, impingement, and indecent wracking wrath of mental illness, that even as a middle...

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Mine courtship and marriage with deadly obsession...

As September daze will soon arrive
recollections from a 
psychologically checkered  past
loom large recalling  
tragic storied days of mein kampf.

Circa early nineteen seventies:
As a mere slip of a...

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Part 4

Now by the end of the day, it was easy to say,
    The Hippo was gracious and kind.
With no desire to offend, it seemed a genuine friend
    And...

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She was a grand piano: grand in structure, grand in beauty, grand in quality 
of sound. She had captured the heart of every pianist who had come to play in 
the great hall. Once they...

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She was a grand piano: grand in structure, grand in beauty, grand in quality 
of sound. She had captured the heart of every pianist who had come to play in 
the great hall. Once they...

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My opinion on religion Take 1
I am in the unexpected throes of spring cleaning
Suddenly with no warning 
7 people are unexpectedly arriving in a few minutes for an Easter lunch.
Easter lunch already?
Why didn’t anyone mention...

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For the third time Pandora stands before the box
Inlaid with jewels ivory and gold
In her hand is the key – she closely examines
Intrigued by its intricate patterns - so ancient- so old

Her Creator’s mandate she...

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"No, I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
                        ...

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* Note My dad passed away today, a little over seven months since my mom passed. After a thirty year estrangement my dad and I reconciled when mom died. I figured I'd write this today,...

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So I wrote again. This took longer than it should have. Only fair to warn you, this is a long one.

SHANGRI-LA

Prologue

The village gates stood, like old men stand

Worn with age and bent by time

Rust had...

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