Long Withstood Poems

Watching wan moonlight
illuminate tree limbs,
my heart also brims,
overflowing with autumn.
—Ono no Komachi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono...

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As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono no Komachi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Submit to you—is that what you advise? 
The way the ripples...

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Heat Lightening
by Michael R. Burch

Each night beneath the elms, we never knew
which lights beyond dark hills might stall, advance,
then lurch into strange headbeams tilted up
like searchlights seeking contact in the distance . . .

Quiescent unions...

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POEMS ABOUT EROS AND CUPID

These are translations of ancient Greek poems about Eros. Eros was the Greek counterpart of the Roman god Cupid. While today we tend to think of Cupid as an angelic cherub...

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Pay heed to those deeds from whence the heart must confess...
You're far from Rome Proconsul Caesar...
As they say, "All roads lead to Rome" Ariovistus
and all tresspasses are treated as threats of war...
My recent conquest of...

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RESURRECTION OF A HEROE:

CHORUS:

Far from comparison, far from fear.
Failure part of the journey; shed no tears.
Man...do... the best you can do.
Talents in your hand's only for you. 
No body cares...what you goes through;
When you succeed,...

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Uplifted his mouth from wild and fierce meal
That sinner, it furbishing at the hair
Of head on back of which he had to steal.

Then started: “You want I renew and share
Desperate pain which is pressing my...

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Some say it began with the Jehovah's Witnesses
ingesting sacred substances with the Rastafarians.
Others say that could not possibly be true or false.

What emerged one sultry August Town Council evening
when half the town had found some...

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The table is old and worn
nicks and scratches 
its red plastic tablecloth left over from a forgotten Christmas
its holiday pattern worn and forlorn
many a Thanksgiving dinner was hosted
the plump turkey as dry as yesterday

many wars...

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Political Poetry

Obama: what bard, what griot, what poet wouldn't want to tell -the miracles of our times in tales.
What courage, what evidence that man can endure; fulfilling the destiny for which he was bore.

Stones were...

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Placed 9th in:
A Brian Strand Premiere  No. 1224 Poetry Contest


                        ...

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Proverbs 16:18 (KJV) “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

I’ve been ashamed,
Ashamed of my lack of understanding,
My lack of consideration,
My lack of care and concern,
My lack of admiration.

I’ve been ashamed,
Ashamed of...

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Marching out of the cloaked shires
Of landowners, stockbrokers, 
Hereditary Peers, and ruddy faced 
Squires:
A vast multitude of many varied 
Tribes.
Amassing in the great cities, where,
Inhabiting shadowy chambers, 
Behind nodding sighs and hushed 
Whispers, 
The Masonic...

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As Barbarossa roars into the East.
its southern barb cut swiftly to the core.
And as it raged the slaughtering increased,
consuming any force that stood before.
His swift barrage devoured the ranks of Red
as iron divisions consummated death.
These...

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A new command would counter their attack
to stay the storm that harkens at your door.
‘Twould be a feat that stunned the iron pack
for nothing dared defy the wolves before. 
And though his pack could see...

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Gbum Shaka!
Sing to me,o Angel of
The legendary conqueror,
The great elephant that 
Shook the foundations of 
The earth.

Whirrrrrrrrrr......hear the 
The voice of the wind 
Whispering about the 
Only Ama Nkosi:

Between the Drakensberg
And the Indian ocean,
The immortalized...

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Unless you were bullied in school, you have no idea just how much of a toll the constant torment by others can take on you. I have never spoken of it and never wanted to...

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If I were a star, lighting up the night
Filling hearts with joy and hope
Inspiring souls to listen to the silence
That breathes a caress across the spirit
Whispering kindness to the listener

If I were a star…

I’d look...

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These are poems for Ukraine and Ukrainians. 

We Are Here
by Michael R. Burch

“We are here.” – Volodymyr Zelensky

We are here. Were are here.
And we won’t disappear.
We are here. We are here. We are here.

We are...

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  Dear grandma, 
       you were my litchi  s u n r i s e, 
  encasing stars in honeydew of  h e a l...

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Ono no Komachi Translations

These are my modern English translations of the ancient Japanese poems of Ono no Komachi…

"It's over!"
Your words drizzle like dismal rains,
bringing tears,
as I wilt with my years.
—Ono no Komachi, loose translation/interpretation by...

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Preposterous Eros
by Michael R. Burch

“Preposterous Eros” – Patricia Falanga

Preposterous Eros shot me in
the buttocks, with a Devilish grin,
spent all my money in a rush
then left my heart effete pink mush.


These are poems about Eros, the...

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Armadilly Billy the Sling Shot Kidster was steadily on the move.
He was leaving the Southwest and his reputation behind, for sure!
Every gunslinger was out for him and of killing he’d become tired.
Even the weather was...

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Abandoned for being who I hate that I am, 
Ridiculed for my defects I cannot control-
Feeling like no one will ever give a damn, 
Suffering from the embers of pain’s coal. 
On a roll, downward...

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He was born in a shelter for animals,
Meant to keep off the wind and the rain,
For there was no room for them in the inn,
So it was here that they came.

His father did the best...

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