Parting Poems

Roses for a Lover, Idealized
by Michael R. Burch

When you have become to me
as roses bloom, in memory,
exquisite, each sharp thorn forgot,
will I recall?yours made me bleed?

When winter makes me think of you?
whorls petrified in frozen dew,
bright promises blithe spring forsook,
will...Read More

Winter
by Michael R. Burch
 
The rose of love's bright promise
lies torn by her own thorn;
her scent was sweet
but at her feet
the pallid aphids mourn.
 
The lilac of devotion
has felt the winter hoar
and shed her dress;
companionless,
she shivers, nude and sore.
 
Keywords/Tags:...Read More

Broken tears - unforgettable love
I can still remember the way they looked
They radiated with elegance and grace
A unbroken chain with roots on the ground
I wish I could rewind time
give love a second chance

As long as the stars shine 
- soft...Read More

i o u
by Michael R. Burch

i might have said it
but i didn’t

u might have noticed
but u wouldn’t

we might have been us
but we couldn’t

u might respond
but probably shouldn’t

Keywords/Tags: Impasse, Defeat, Alienation, Divorce, Break Up, Breaking Up, Parting, Separation, Loss, Lost Love,...Read More

Epitaph for a Palestinian Child
by Michael R. Burch

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.

Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch

It's not that every leaf must finally fall,
it's just that we can...Read More

It takes a sibling  to  sense her brother’s needs  this day of days when futures are at stake.
Graduation end point,
School of excellence,
marks assigned by dons with cool detachment.
Ray of light, ray of hope, the twinkle in my...Read More

"The Odyssey of We are Centre"



Where does he come through 
with his fishing lines?
Casting off metaphors
worms of vitriol
hooked and dipped,
he’s so green backed  
rolling in grandiose 
self published flack
unhip and seasoned 
with his tart rye 
swallowed for kicks
pulling deep...Read More

Do kiss me true and kind at passions gate
Embrace me with your world that pleasures me
Pour heart songs that sing of our lovely fate
Its' promise found brings such sweet jubilee

I love you with more love than I can hold
I hold...Read More

Flowery scents floating into blue sky,
Windows swinging ajar in speedy burst.
Trees swaying high dancing to wind so dry,
All ready to spew forth fruits of the first. 

Spraying across long routes toward clean starts,
Narrow roads which led to eternity,
Hallway parting to...Read More

August-bright adamant, 
Purple, bright, sweet. 
It stores your talent 
And its taste is sweet and sour. 

In the last month of summer 
The area is standing and breathing heat. 
The foliage is ready to change color, 
And the butterflies fly...Read More

Ben Sana Mecburum: “You are indispensable”
by Attila Ilhan
translation by Nurgul Yayman and Michael R. Burch

You are indispensable; how can you not know
that you’re like nails riveting my brain?
I see your eyes as ever-expanding dimensions.
You are indispensable; how can you not...Read More

Insurrection
by Michael R. Burch

She has become as the night—listening
for rumors of dawn—while the dew, glistening,
reminds me of her, and the wind, whistling,
lashes my cheeks with its soft chastening.

She has become as the lights—flickering
in the distance—till memories old and troubling
rise up...Read More

A young suitor stood shyly before her
his heart full of promises yet to bestow
her heart ready to burst with joy.

It seemed that day that angels sung in celebration.

Their eyes did not meet entirely at once
as was customary in polite society,
only...Read More

Cross the river Charles
Steady stream of steam the bogs envelop 
Sweaty air resists your passage
Drift to town a short distance down

Woolly summer wonder wrought
All move and sing at once
A billow from his pipe
His bellow calls you up to join him

From...Read More

With  few exceptions,
There is only one way to succeed in life,
Which is, to go through the right hoops,
At the right time,
At the right speed for each hoop.

Of course you could pay someone else to go through them for you,
But...Read More

Greeted by the multi-lit display
draped over the hedges
and the railing of our front porch,
the brilliant lit Christmas tree
winks at us, welcoming us home
from the Christmas Eve Mass.

You settle comfortably in your chair
as I walk into the dining room.
Sitting down, I...Read More

When lost inside a world of dreams,
the Muse becomes my guide

The days and nights stand juxtaposed,
the sun and moon collide

And though my eyes desert me now,
the past and future blind

My parting wish is not to wake
—this sleep forever mine

(Villanova Pennsylvania:...Read More

Should I wear myself off in tears?
Should I get myself lost with beer?
Should I dare consult the seers 
for the loss of a comely dear?

Can I live onwards with this fear
that your voice I may no longer hear?
Will our friendship...Read More

passionate, parting
florescent gatherings oft
the electric lights


1/13/20
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2020©
...Read More

pomegranate days with a twilit moon at night,
never parting ways even when a silly fight-
staying up late and laughing over tea,
for love is everything...he is to me

our racing hearts connected
sweet passion collected
never being neglected
my defects accepted

the center of a universe...Read More

I love my wife with claws so sharp
Tentacles sure to squeeze me tight
The fangs that sink into my heart
Consuming blood for pleasure 
Keeping me alive vampire like for money

One eye positioned at the center of her head
Another one in back...Read More

rusty year remonstrating
saline liquid scrunching
mild moans sighing
felon fate vying
peremptory peers tuning
sacred sorrow plotting

mild went wild
fate feign smile
past pulsing bile

lusty limbs lurching
la-de-da luck lustrating
lanky life leering

yawning year's yucks!
nocturnal new's numb.
        20:01:02:08:35

Note: An Adaptation of...Read More

This Distance Between Us
by Michael R. Burch

This distance between us,
this vast gulf of remembrance
void of understanding,
sets us apart.

You are so far,
lost child,
weeping for consolation,
so dear to my heart.

Once near to my heart,
though seldom to touch,
now you are foreign,
now you grow...Read More

We know that life is a journey.
And Death is also a continuation of the journey.
As it marks the end of the body's journey.
And the new beginning of the souls journey

A branch has fallen from the tree
But he only drifted to...Read More

Be That Rock
by Michael R. Burch
 
for George Edwin Hurt Sr.
 
When I was a child
I never considered man’s impermanence,
for you were a mountain of adamant stone:
a man steadfast, immense,
and your words rang.
 
And when you were gone,
I still heard...Read More