Long Whittle away Poems

Family Poems

Mother's Smile
by Michael R. Burch

There never was a fonder smile
than mother's smile, no softer touch
than mother's touch. So sleep awhile
and know she loves you more than "much."

So more than "much, " much more than...

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Poems about Fathers and Grandfathers III




Success
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

We need our children to keep us humble
between toast and marmalade;

there is no time for a ticker-tape parade
before bed, no award, no bright statuette

to be delivered...

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Poems about Children IV

Salat Days
by Michael R. Burch

Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Paul Ray Burch, Sr.

I remember how my grandfather used to pick poke salat ...
though first, usually, he’d stretch back in the...

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When they came to a side hall Joulupukki stopped.
     “Do you feel the magic?”  He said to her.  She nodded.  He stepped around the corner, on the far...

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Ponderings on my 60 th Birthday!
On this my 60 th year I have gained a few new insights that can only come with age and experience. 
I do find it surreal that 60 years have...

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Children's Poems IV

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



Boundless
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

Every day we whittle away at the essential solidity of him,
and...

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A majestic Marine
Who was always was there
No other human being
Could possibly compare

No possible word
Could ever truly describe
For every mention of his name
My heart and eyes fill with pride

He was a United States Marine
Illustrious and respected
Yet...

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On those long days
when it was too hot to ride
or run, a boy would find
an island of cool beneath
a tree and sit there 
with his pocket knife
to whittle away time
and a piece of wood.
A good...

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It's so enthralling to be falling again
When love is the bane of my existence it fills me with pain
Romance is the rapture of the heart
To capture all that might one day bring us apart
There are...

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They tell me to put one foot in front of the other
But why should I do that when I don’t know where I’m going?
Maybe they want me to wander forever
Alone, starving, a hollow-eyed husk of...

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It is not the writing, but the subject
As it is almost like fighting to get some people to reflect
Typing on the keyboard, asking God for some direction
For anytime I soared it was always in God's...

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He sits silent with the old man;
as intrigued watching his gnarled hands
whittle away at the pine twig,
as he is with tales about Gran,
and their life on the wild moorlands.

As he now and then takes a...

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You are the wild flower in my palm
With no stem to keep you anchored to this covetous earth
You are the fragile thing I dare not cup,
As your petals whittle away under the wind
And flit unfettered...

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nectar of life from a distant throne
shadows breathe in a constant drone
dewdrops lose their glorious bright
And colors seeping back to white

chaos churns the rivers grime
o'er  smooth stones made of time
filters pure, ancient golden goal
creative...

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nectar of life from a distant throne
shadows breathe in a constant drone
dewdrops lose their glorious bright
And colors seeping back to white

chaos churns the rivers grime
o'er  smooth stones made of time
filters pure, ancient golden goal
creative...

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Henry started a punchin’ 
at the ripe old age of 15
There just ain’t no way of knowin’
all of the things he’s done and seen

All those years are far behind him
since a young cowboy in his...

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