Long Tumblers Poems

Villanelles

The villanelle is a poetic form based on repetition, with a double refrain. 



Villanelle: The Divide
by Michael R. Burch

The sea was not salt the first tide...
was man born to sorrow that first day, 
with the...

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                             Brahman Nemesis

    ...

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In the shadows of my half-waked condition of terra firma- patronus renditioned, I mudder into your soil,
snorkel into your swamp of inlet tributary, a flagellum personae , prosopopoeia explorae eel, "Marinas"
here waters water dreams, to...

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Resemblance
by Michael R. Burch

Take this geode with its rough exterior—
crude-skinned, brilliant-hearted ...
a diode of amethyst—wild, electric;
its sequined cavity—parted, revealing.
Find in its fire all brittle passion,
each jagged shard relentlessly aching.
Each spire inward—a fission startled;
in its shattered...

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You’ve met me,
but you just don’t know it yet
The dream house that you want,
I once polar bear hibernated there ...
two winter moons ago

The summer fruit of relaxation
that you’re tasting now,
I planted it 
two prior vineyard...

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Vae victis! Her quick eyes spy out the field.
Reconnoitred, the foe's dispositions have been noted, 
quantified, assessed. The forces of order
and tidiness, in neat array, 
perfect their alignment, await onslaught.
The sentinels stand guard:
A pot of...

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Amazing acrobats astound awe-stricken audiences.  Amy always asks about acts already arranged.

Bouncing bears balance beach balls.  Bobby Bear bicycled behind Betsy Bear.

Crazy clowns crash carelessly.  Carousels circle clockwise.

Daring demonstrations dazzle dazed dreamers....

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The water fluttered under the glass boiling in envy of itself
Marching to the sleek inner coating along the candid sphere like a band of drums ready for war
bubbling in heavy camaraderie the steam spoke a...

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Take me to the place where the aromatic fragrance
threatens to envelop our obelisks glorifying death;
to the place where the seraphim of old long to steal your breath
only to resurrect you again,
because they adore your shell-shocked...

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FLOWING    WATER

Though my boat be shaken and tossed,
Serenity is in the mind, in the soothed  soul --
My spirit’s not aching or forsaken.  Nor is it lost.
It needs no flow from...

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This mental scene came over me while finishing my abnormal psych final: 
A pack of about 12 guys all wearing
Sweat pants and no undergarments
Porn stars
No white dwarfs here...
They are headed into the strip club for...

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Life is short,
life is spry
like a crisp, little french fry
that gets stolen 
if you fail to watch over it.

It's written in the name 
of two moments
that hold hands and pass by.
On edges of death,
it startles...

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Orpheus' long, slow, crawl out of Hell
Has left him nothing -- not even himself!

Long had he traveled, sorrowing, with his bride,
and many terrors endured, and now

Unslings his lyre, and looks at her too soon!*
He rushes...

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Once upon a time while touring ancient Egypt land,
A frugal auld tourist from the bonny land of Scotland,
Decided the mysterious pyramids he desired to see,
And he demanded to visit them for a very nominal fee!

He...

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after Ho Chi Minh

I
The stone basin holds
still water. The still water

drinks the arid sponge
as rays of pure energy

slake their thirst on
the ebon wings of crows

II
Yangtze flows from widows peak
pooling briefly in the lock

of a tired...

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(There was roast chicken too with potatoes and cheese, though in the picture not seen! Before the shot it had been gobbled up...)


A table laid and baskets heap'd,
Sheltered in the deep scented darkness of...

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Stephanus Marcus Book 1
Canto 6
Verses 4 and 5

Now herald monarch's late arrival nigh.
From east his royal standard shows design.
A lion bold displays from pennant high -
courageous beast, a brave and noble sign.
King's escort knights are...

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I must admit I do enjoy watching the country unravel at times
that's what spices up a mundane life
makes us appreciate calmer times.
How I do enjoy watching the uncoiling mayhem
Martin looter kings and Drama queens 
trying...

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The locksmith of my heart
By
Jude Kyrie

When the night is silent.
Deep into its slumber.
A bright moon smiles its bloom
as its doorway to outer space opens.
In the kitchen the dog sleeps.
Children making dreamy noises
In their rooms.
I feel...

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THE FIRST VICTIMS

Walking back on triple feet
From where newspapers float
They sit down forming a nations map
Where tumblers hit the table
Like a bullet sound from Plateau state
The table bearing dry gin and cigarette
The altar of the...

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Lying there feeling warm and replete 
Looking up to the sky, this is real neat
I never thought-that I would see three
But that was just granted to little old me.

The first as I lay in the...

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Our fingers interweave, like a key in a lock
The tumblers click into place, and the world opens
Warm, orange glow between our hearts
Coursing down our arms to each other, tearing through
The amber cocoon around my inner...

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A world to me so dear,
A place to my heart so near;

Love and joy flows all around,
Happy children you’ll find here;
Sweets and candies abound.

‘Tis where I fly with the clouds,
With them I make funny sounds.
Look...

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Rings of cold metal
Rigid combinations of truth
Only one fits, the clink is definitive
The turn is excruciating… expectation of opening doors
But deep inside the lock is rusty and the tumblers fail

Try again, invasion with another false...

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Listen, do listen a cry from that hut among bushes
No human voice, no human words but humanly
Beats and brutes too raised their crazy heads
But no human hand waves at them, worried
Cry, no hand sympathetic, no...

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