Long Unbidden Poems

R.I.P.
by Michael R. Burch

When I am lain to rest
and my soul is no longer intact, 
but dissolving, like a sunset
diminishing to the west...

and when at last
before His throne my past
is put to test
and the demons...

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His glowing golden eyes glistened with a comprehension beyond the mortal condition

A well-toned, tall, and tanned man, who most, not all, would call handsome

A brightly bleached stalactite overbite gleaned between the mean features of an...

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Poems about Children III

Miracle
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

The contrails of galaxies mingle, and the dust of that first day still shines.
Before I conceived you, before your heart beat, you were mine,

and I see

infinity leap in...

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Regret
by Michael R. Burch

Regret,
a bitter
ache to bear . . .

once starlight
languished
in your hair . . .

a shining there
as brief
as rare.

Regret . . .
a pain
I chose to bear . . .

unleash
the torrent
of your hair . ....

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It was just one of those splendid days, which held no excitement;
Moreover it required none, for in its stillness, I was content.

Lying on the forest green grass, luxurious blue skies in my eyes,
Summer winds brought...

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Summer magic, Winter delight, Spring fresh, and beautiful Fall.
The diverseness of the assorted seasons tends to delight us.
Each has its own ambiance and nuances, after all.
Some years they arrive with less fuss and muss.
Summer is...

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Since English language my mother tongue, no surprise...

etymology encurtains, encompasses,
and encapsulates healthy fixation
why I can spend countless hours
engrossed with printed material
courtesy select magazines or books,
plus aiming to craft satisfactory
poems or prose as an avocation
to share...

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These secret silent stillnessess,
wistful wispy whisperings
which enter through the windows in my heart,
I try to softly touch them 
and they recede, far, so far away,
I try to gently hold them
they slip beyond my grasp,
and so,...

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EPIGRAMS IV

Improve yourself by others' writings, attaining freely what they purchased at the expense of experience.
—Socrates, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I didn’t mean to love you,
but I did.
Best leave the rest unsaid,
hid-
den
and unbidden.
—Michael R....

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Hiroshima Poems 2

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.
-Michael R. Burch, "Epitaph for a Child of Hiroshima"



The intense heat and light of the Hiroshima...

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It matters not no I think this is so and thus it is no?
Yea, I do believe this to be the way it shall be
From this past moment justly risen and so it will 
Catering...

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I had spent recent years in mourning, since I had lost someone very dear;
As when pallid moon is hidden by clouds, and bright stars will not appear.

My job as a professor consumed me, and I...

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Epigrams VIII

Less Heroic Couplets: Word to the Unwise
by Michael R. Burch

I wanted to be good as gold,
but being good, as I’ve been told,
requires something, discipline,
I simply have no interest in!



Brief Fling I
by Michael R. Burch

To...

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“I can hear my muse whispering tenderly in my ear. There is a story that wants to be told, and I'm merely its chosen vessel.”
          ...

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Children's Poems XI

These are poems for children and poems about children and their mothers, fathers, grandmother, grandfathers and extended families. 



To My Child, Unborn
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

How many were the nights, enchanted
with despair and...

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the cemetery is still this Autumn day
as rain falls like kisses of love on my cheeks
to mingle with my tears . . . 
memories have shook the ocean of my sleep
so, I have come to...

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In the bleak night, ‘pon lonely street of Capitol Bye Pass,
Mine stomach’s growl, louder than thunder’s clash,
Mine lips, pink and cracked like parched earth’s skin,
I lift mine gaze, pleading to the heavens for a drop...

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I started my school years in a strict Catholic school
run by nuns and I was terrified of them
with their black hoods and caps
like death dressed in shrouds
and their stern faces and sharp words . ....

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When I think of what to write
often the ocean comes to mind
Endless sea of pretty blue
and stretched out horizon lines,
impossibly flat

Yet when I actually arrive
it isn't the sea that my eyes
take a liking too
Rather it's...

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HANDMAIDEN OF MOON DANCING



fly me to stars in the thrill of one swan night
over a crescent arc to feel a flame of sighs,
teasing dreams so silent yet ever wild
and like a neon light, speak through...

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Mist, Mist..
Why not whisper, why not speak?
When upon thy shrouded depths,
Thou knowest truly, what we seek

Darkness, Darkness
Why be quiet, why not be shrill?
When your hoot and squeal and growls,
Shivers our spine, with unbidden thrill

Cat, Cat
Why...

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Scarecrow Addict
           

Gritted and dusty
Powered by flack jacket eyes
Bootsteps through grey puddles
Flotilla of cigarette butts
Trash kicked aside
In a desert of litter
Seeking the soulless of death
Chattering...

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Line of Inquiry
“I wasn’t sure what it was he said but it meant a lot to me.”

When there was still daylight lingering,
And the wind was upon the leaves,
And every leaf trembled at its touch,
On my...

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In the suspended time 

In the suspended time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve,
I think of you. 
Time has passed, much time, and you have said in 
Clear words of silence, that you wish me...

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Love is here, then and now;
often hidden, and hard to define.
I have won, and lost, and how
i long again to win your heart for mine.

if i gave up everything i had,
and stand alone in a...

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