Long Unrelenting Poems

The first soft snow: 
leaves of the awed jonquil 
bow low
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

Come, investigate loneliness! 
a solitary leaf
clings to the Kiri tree
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

The cheerful-chirping cricket
contends gray...

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Grasses wilt:
the braking locomotive
grinds to a halt
—Yamaguchi Seishi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, translation by Michael R. Burch

The first soft snow:
leaves of the awed jonquil
bow...

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He just appeared to me, like wispily curling 
Chimney smoke, 
One grim and early morning in the very midst of 
Decembers briefest days, on the highest slope,
Toiling through my daily round; where, slowly 
Driving up...

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The Cold Doorknobs 

I.
I am sure there will be that profound moment in time
when the dog out back will stop its incessant yapping,
Its unrelenting impulse to belch out its interminable wails, 
alas, to inform its...

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With the opening of my fortress cell,
solemn-faced men come locust invading in
Their mouths smile not, and eyes neither grin
as ceremonial words pursed lips expel
A deer thought escapes ... my life nears its end!
And I feel...

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Approximately three plus days elapsed...
without yours truly experiencing urge to defecate

Neither bloating nor constipation
arose, but one nondescript anguished
logophile anticipated intestinal blockage,
hence prophesying worse case scenario

I (predicated in direction for an adult)
ingested three Dulcolax tablets
and subsequently...

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We all have favorite times of year, and I am no exception.
If I were forced to pick a favorite time, it would be fall.
Though not because it sports the finest garb, although it does,
But rather...

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“The Tear”



How many oceans of salt 
does it take to form a tear?

Unrelenting waves of sorrow 
pounding a broken heart
hears the howl of sharp beaked foolish flying monkeys
ignorant feeding frenzies swallow whole lost families 
swept...

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Grant this civil yankee to doodle till Lee gets blue in the face 

blowing 99 red balloons April 9th, 2023
will signal 158 years since Appomattox
plus what would have been ninety sixth birth 
of the late...

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Support Your Local Po' Whet (Hick) Bummer, i.e. me

Freedom from onset of pervasive gloom 
(attendant with profusely perspiring palms, 
hut tree men duh us aggravation), would be 
a dog send to this melon collie bow...

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Glory to the Ukranian Freedom Fighters
 
Democracy and freedom are under attack
Beaurocracy and greed man,
Don’t let this war criminal come back
Putin is lootin’ the streets of Ukraine
His crimes against humanity are bordering on insane
His unprovoked aggression...

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The Things Never Said
The terror…
The only things ever said about my daddy’s WWII service were that he’d been to New Guinea where he’d ridden on a truck full of soldiers by a river without a...

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By Stanley Collymore

At first I wasn’t in the least interested in you. 
But then, why should I be? You, after all, 
are an unmarried and out-of-work mum 
just turned 23 and, additionally and 
quite evidently...

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Ability to defecate wildly swings (both ways)...
between incontinence and constipation

Irritable bowel syndrome i.e.
the former excretory bout I address
the above (polite way to phrase diarrhea)
and avoid moon efficient cheekiness,
yours truly doth buttress,
a literal warranted pain in...

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As scented air aroused my misty mind,
her shadow broke the early morning sun.
Aromas wafting from the morning grind
seduced a thought that she may be the one.
I sensed her very essence from afar,
unnerved, I sought the...

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Beware the wrath of the Northern Polar boogie man, 
The Anti-Clause, a legendary beast of nightmarish voracity,
From folklore mythology, a dark creature of demonic prowess,
Lurks in the hidden shadow realm, in a freezing forbidden zone,
Of...

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The day after my cousin died from cancer…no let me start with I prayed hard…I mean hard…with unrelenting fervor…convinced until there was no further reason to pray…to pray. I bothered friends relentlessly…the heavens were stirring...

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A dogged stance had made the beast retire
as disappointment filled the devil’s veins.
Though Brit resolve repulsed his hellish fire 
this demon’s air of pompousness remains.
His raging storm had faltered in the face 
of fierce resistance,...

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This is the story about the man who sought refuge in my heart
His glance told stories
It sang songs, reviving and pioneering all at the same time 
His melody was beauty and foreign, a vacation I...

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24 seconds of silence for (Kobe Bryant)

Twenty four seconds of silence,
seems like forever, 
and yet seems so short.  

Just like Kobe's journey in life,
so much accomplished and yet,
cut off in death tragically.

Kobe was known...

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Sometimes, in the dead of night
When all our fast asleep
We are startled awake by a loud and pernicious
Rapping sound, a bang bang banging sound

Like someone, or something
Breaking through our front door
Ready to take us, devour...

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In shot snap seconds, everything changed.
The horror was sudden -
a shatter-shower of bullets
bouncing off rock.
The picnic I'd laid so carefully
blew apart - black olives
tossed into the air like fat flies,
the watermelon's pink guts splattering.

Gun aimed...

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Every 16 hours a woman is shot
by her husband or boyfriend

One American is killed with a gun
every 15 minutes

Over 80 Americans are shot and killed 
every day

7 children are “unintentionally” shot
every day

33,000 Americans are killed...

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Prayers and stagnancy remained this day,
Many a glance did I try his way, 
Our Dragon’s dark, silhouetted form,
Pressed to the burning stone barrier
I could see and hear his dragon skin sizzle
Against it, he remained
Fuming as...

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At this very moment, no one has successfully defined what Life truly is, so
      every fleeting second that passes, one breathing being at a time, tries 
   ...

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