Long Warms Poems

Driven insane by sorrow, there’s no tomorrow to cure it…
Honestly, I’m in vain and so guilty…feeling way less than legit…
I’m holding you close in my optimism and its memories along with it
Torn apart by negative...

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Zen Death Haiku

Brittle cicada shell,
little did I know
you were my life!
—Shuho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Returning
as it came,
this naked worm.
—Shidoken, translation by Michael R. Burch

As dew glistens
on a lotus leaf,
so too I soon must vanish.
—Shinsui,...

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Wonderland
by Michael R. Burch
 
We stood, kids of the Lamb, to put to test
the beatific anthems of the blessed,
the sentence of the martyr, and the pen’s
sincere religion. Magnified, the lens
shot back absurd reflections of each...

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SELF REFLECTIONS

These are poems about mirrors, images, self-image, reflections, impressions and self-reflection. 

Self Reflection
by Michael R. Burch 

for anyone struggling with self-image

She has a comely form
and a smile that brightens her dorm ...
but she's grossly...

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These are peace poems, prayer poems, hymns and lullabies I have written for family, friends and the world over the years ...

Peace Prayer
by Michael R. Burch

for Jim Dunlap

Be calm.
Be still.
Be silent, content.

Be one with the...

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Native American Translations

Cherokee Travelers' Blessing I
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

I will extract the thorns from your feet.
For yet a little while, we will walk life's sunlit paths together.
I will love you like my own...

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Various Heresies 4

I, Lazarus
by Michael R. Burch

I, Lazarus, without a heart,
devoid of blood and spiritless,
lay in the darkness, meritless:
my corpse?a thing cold, dead, apart.

But then I thought I heard?a Voice,
a Voice that called me from...

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Come Down
by Michael R. Burch

for Harold Bloom

Come down, O, come down
from your high mountain tower.
How coldly the wind blows,
how late this chill hour ...

and I cannot wait
for a meteor shower
to show you the time
must be...

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What Good Are Our Tears?
by Michael R. Burch

What good are our tears?
They will not spare the dying their anguish.
What good is our concern
to a child sick of living, waiting to perish?

What good, the warm benevolence...

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Part 1: FORE SIBERIAN FATE

silk wings wet -
angel on the lake.
starlight glitter
separates from

the golden wheat.
her docile hair,
prophecy of ice.

winter pink,
pinched cheeks.
ice skate scrapes -
flecks of flakes.

the snow queen
before her relentless
reign, a pretty thing.

her smile warms
the...

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Reveren’ Carlton Whitney was the pastor of our church, and someone I looked up to as a child. 
Six foot six, with piercing eyes, a booming voice, and yet…his disposition, thankfully - was mild.

The very...

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The Story so far continued from 'Visitor'…
An attractive extra-terrestrial female researcher sent to a remote island to observe earth and beam back her findings is struggling with unfamiliar, alien romantic emotions. Even though she is...

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"FALL"



I wrap
my Autumn world
around you

Calliope turning
raising the 
season’s poetry, 

I am she
returning 

dancing 
with Summer’s 
dying leaves 

Twirling you up into 
my warm golden brown 
symphony

hear me sing, 
whispering notes,
holding keys 

towards you 
you're approachable
reaching...

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I awoke to the familiar sound of dishes rattling in Mother’s kitchen and to the thick scent of coffee wafting through the air. I glanced out my bedroom window; the neighborhood was lit by the...

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Pondering the reflections on this windless day                            ...

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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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The flames of the furnace (well-travelled by wind
slowly glazing the rags of gray women chagrined
at the sight of a hair fleeing tresses now thinned) 
sometimes billow like waves flooding naves through the night,
when the lightning...

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Mine own son
God, did bless me
sunshine that's mind
mine own heart's petals bloom 
joy i did shed while i did see thee
in mine arms wast w'rthwhile

lullabies sung as thee didst lie in thy crib 
meaningful mem'ries...

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The country, people, and the village,
All equal, as if, for the first time, 
All of that gave a fresher image,
Nay, 'tis but a relative vantage.
Save fresh road, to its left bears a sign.

"A few more...

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In this life of what's to be,
we define life as what we see.
The thoughts of love and life we see,
are the driving force of what we believe.

Of the twins alive in me,
one is blind and...

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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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A Flirtation With Love (Parts 1, 2, & 3 finis)
#1 Sue's Legacy (Has A Home In My Heart)

Sure, each touch that enjoins us to life has Love's sparks,
one less photon (warms retina), dies but informs
that...

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My life started with rain,
the steady stream of drops,
hitting the trees gently
and ending its descent to our world
on the wet pavement.
I am on the sidewalk, 
sheltered by a makeshift roof and 
a border of trees.
The...

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Day in, day out… I’m here
softly walking down 
the corridors of your mind
a seductress in search of the room
where you hide your heart

The train of my lace gown trails behind me
my bare feet hardly making...

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Note: this is the 2nd HALF of this piece, a little too long to post as one poem, sorry. If you enjoy story-poems, it's definitely worth the read, believe me. (Or the "listen".)


“We learned of...

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