Long Valor Poems

Athenian Epitaphs

Mariner, do not ask whose tomb this may be,
but go with good fortune: I wish you a kinder sea.
—Michael R. Burch, after Plato

Does my soul abide in heaven, or hell?
Only the sea gulls
in their...

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Alone I arrive, walking from Frederick
over the gaps, across gentle hills
out onto a knoll
overlooking this burnished landscape.
Before me I see countless writhing rows
of indiscernible shapes gathered
in terrible rituals mid fire and smoke
darkening the sun.
From distant...

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Athenian Epitaphs II

These are ancient Greek epitaphs for lost family and friends, including dogs and other animals ...

Now his voice is prisoned in the silent pathways of the night: 
his owner's faithful Maltese... 
but will...

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They pursued it with vigor, they pursued it with crass
They hunted with valor and hope
They proceeded with a dose of good Knightly sass
They chased it with tackle and rope

Now King Arthur declared in a boisterous...

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The Pain of Love
by Michael R. Burch 
 
for T. M.
 
The pain of love is this:
the parting after the kiss;
 
the train steaming from the station
whistling abnegation;
 
each interstate’s bleak white bar
that vanishes under...

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“He fought often and once bled in the cause of freedom, but his habits of War did not lessen in him the peaceful virtues which adorn his private life.”  Doctor Benjamin Rush, signer of...

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HEROES

Near somber guards, units of children heap 
dead leaves, naive to any else fallen.
Friend, you chuckle, but your posture speaks
of duty on this day of contradictions.

Firefighters bow heads in silent paean, 
while polished trucks stand...

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Social settings have stigma attached to this. 
Atmospherically climactic negative correlations sustain society. 
Civilized individuals are naturally monogamous; serially… 
On the other hand gender segregated facility.

Men and woman,
Penis and vagina,
Birds and bees,
Conditions and stipulations…

A rule...

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Gone now are the wondrous minds of old,
whose era treasured learning over gold,
And humble were the thoughts and words of these,
who, trothed to truth, would now be left displeased,
by hurried tempers bent on winning wars,
neglectful...

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*Image of Thunder & Lightning by Pixabay.

The Stranger
My life warps by its beasts of woes
depression dogs my day
at night, stress drains my restless soul
the wrongs have no delay

Myself am I, forsook decreed
hope laid by things...

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As darkness absorbed in my reveries, my usual lapse accommodated itself in height of melancholy but not in this conscience. Then I found myself in my room and my window opened. Everything in upheaval, a...

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There are times in life when we deal with strife
    And are helpless to the powers that be.
Where we are sequestered by doubt... and still tossed about
    By others...

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Here are tribute poems for exceptional children and teachers who should be alive today:

Emilie Parker,
the horror grows starker
as we see your sweet image
and cringe at the carnage;
but dear, how you mesmerize
with those vivid blue eyes
and...

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The Stars and Moon had long been friends
    but this was set to change.
As the Moon just up and walked away
    moving swiftly out of range.
And what was left...

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For every step I take toward the sun,
the spark that lit the fire inside me dwindles.
History slated on unforgiving stone erodes;
A weakly chiseled dream.
But I will remember it all,
and tongues shall breed these words
and hold...

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It was not uncommon to discover a missing Brother Legionary
castrated, and decapitated
with a headless eagle carved upon his chest,
don't speak to me of morals and mercy
for I have seen and dealt the damage of rude...

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With the morning crisp and frosty
    and the Earth yearning for autumn's heat.
Darkness gave way to a fractured dawn
    as the Sun rose in the East.
The forest became warm...

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Sometimes faith lives on the edge of a knife
as Sviastoslav the Rus sacker came to know 
The Khazar Khanate knew how to cut a slight
his gilded skull stole the show,
The Vatican went from a marsh...

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Two gifted creations, born from dreams that were sent
 and both gave a measure of blessed hope….

(1.)

He Bled, For Life's Gleaming, Golden Treasures Now Forever Lost


He tread each new dawn, trepidation dancing right along
Where once...

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“Clap your terrible wings, vivacious serpent of old!
Imagine my plight as dangerous as your spite,
Stomp your clawed feet on these prison floors,
Peace shall always follow the sink of your fangs…”

Silenced were the wailing demons round,
Crouched...

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Out of emptiness comes this:
Purposes as incomprehensible and wonderful as these purposes
Either you had no purpose or the purpose is beyond the end

Because the timepiece not only serves a purpose, it is adapted to that
     ...

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His love silences the lonely
In a moment of insecurity, his love
Promises to hold me
When the darkness whispers
My name, 
His love expresses the beautiful
In shimmering stars, a moon
Flowing with dreams, 
His love remembers to be with...

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His is the whispering voice echoing within the athlete’s field of dreams,
The harkening leader, a teacher of strength and confidence, whom takes
The raw abilities given unto an individual then molds it, shapes it until
This natural...

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My heart is bleeding and my spirit is burning
Day light breaks and births another day
And I kneel down, and pray for you to come my way 
 I could not hold back the tears 
When...

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The Enlightenment Of A Once Lost Soul,
(A sad tale of life lived,  in three sonnets united)....
 
 
I.
Alas! Can man ever conquer such doom and gloom
walk in the light, a true path forswearing to...

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