Long Notably Poems

[Well, ShallowMan’s ne’er at a loss
for voicing shallow thoughts that gloss.
With trenchant wit he reaps the dross
when seeking sense in applesauce.

But to his aid flies FactoidMan
who always has a Fact at hand;
with him, who needs...

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The Story
by Kamal Nasser
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I will tell you a story ...
a story that lived in the dreams of my people,
a story that comes from the world of tents.
It is a story...

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Origin of Christianity

(If you don't like religious writes don't read on)

It may surprise some that Jesus was born a Jew, his parents Joseph and Mary were Jewish, both from the tribe of Judah, in the...

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A pure Hawaiian of rare birth,
living a life somewhat carefree,
fed farm animals by this squirt,
sticks and stones were real toys indeed,
set trash ablaze, be on alert,
a barefoot country kid, that's me,
a runner on trails made...

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Sun is shining as I sing my redemption song.
Hey lady, no woman no cry, lets spread one love.
Jammin', spreading positive vibrations so strong,
like three little birds easy skanking with a dove.

Hey lady, no woman no...

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We're now in the year 6555, and I am feeling happy and so alive,
Above, sunshine pours like honey, as along the oceanside I drive.

Wind whips my hair around, beneath skies a deep sparkling blue,
Like the...

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A scientist pursuing research—
with disinterested curiosity,
Poets distancing themselves—
from personal emotions,
from ‘personality’ (in Eliot’s idiolect),
A sportsperson focusing on the event—
not obsessed with results,
demonstrating sporting spirit,
Anyone doing their karma—
regardless of results,
as characterized in Indian scriptures,
notably the Gita—
All...

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"After the Port Arthur Massacre, mass shooting in Tasmania, Australia, on April 28–29, 1996, that left 35 people dead and some 18 wounded, it led to stricter gun controls, notably a  ban on all...

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I moved to San Francisco from across the bay in early 1977. At 19 years old, dad got me a two-bedroom house in the San Francisco suburb known as the Ocean District. It was the...

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Dozing before take-off. Patients etherized and unable,
Evening  spread into the distance
Silly solitaire cards spread on pull-down table. 
I  hate toves with  imagined importance
Giving direction to momeraths who do not need  it....

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IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE PRIME OF MY PARENY’S LIFE WAS ALMOST 
                     ...

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a set of ten thousand eyes in which each individual carefully watches the sky.
the craft of winter is easy enough to master, thus easy enough to recognize. 

during life, people get used to the harbingers...

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When I was ten I went to England 
with my mother and younger sister.  
It was the Queen's Silver Jubilee. For Monarchists, 
you’ll know what a lot of fanfare goes on.  
There were...

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When I was ten I went to England with my mother and younger sister.  It was the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. For 
Monarchists, you’ll know what a lot of fanfare goes on.  There were...

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Willie Winkie lived in a land of magic, in the region called Butterfly Haven;
For Willie was a diminutive elf, like the violet blossoms, of purple fixation.

Willie and his beloved wife, Elvira, lived highly organized, pleasant...

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LIVE TO EVOLVE
Have you ever noticed that the  letters in the word love are sequestered inside the word “evolve?
Because to me that is what love appropriately does
It evolves
It revolves
It solves
And after sixty-plus years together...

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NEVER LEFT ASUNDER
TO MY LATE MOM:
Did you ever notice that the letters in the word “love” are sequestered inside the word “evolve”?
Because to me that is what love appropriately does
It evolves
It revolves
It solves
And after sixty-plus...

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This was written first night of my recovery from complex spinal surgery to fix my paralysis, while in ICU.  Still there

.Wee Hours of a Chess Match
I have still been passing
The long, wee hours of...

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Wordless worries wander wearily working wayward,
    Towards thoughts transgressing truth’s textured tide.
As always acknowledging agnosticism’s appeal,
    Essence easily evaporates, exeunt Emile. 
Very virtuous violent vowels vociferously validate,
  ...

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Philosophers, down the ages,  
Have strenuously tried
To figure out language:
Their numerous narratives polarize 
Into two Grand narratives, a binary:
Language is referential / differential.
This binary has yielded numerous derivatives.

On the referential side, for instance, 
There’s...

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While textualizing history
(now after nearly 24 centuries)
Of the Battle of the ‘Vitasta,’ or ‘Hydaspes’
Or the Jhelum (a name now common),
There’s bound to be some swerve,
Which is how (according to Bloom)
Poetry is born—
Now that there are...

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The Sinking of the Cargo Ship, El Faro


The Bible, itself, speaks of the men of the world that go down to the sea in ships
because notably, they see the Hand of God move more than...

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In today’s triumph of meditation glory,
Propelled by spiritual intelligence
Driven along truth and righteousness,
I’m grateful to the Lord for lessons in life’s journey
Enriching my youth’s bounty with blessed fulfillment
…answering my quests, notably as to who am...

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For so long you’ve held the key, the scepter and the crown,
Harrowing the reality, the subconscious, the deep within.
Your voice was deep, poignant, forbidding. Clattering like,
The tumbling down of ancient and spidery bones, swishing
Like the...

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My BROTHERS --the Cherokee ---you may refer to me as cross-breed-- or not.
As an ancestor ----if it’s your aspiration?
My Grandmother----half Cherokee- half Blackfoot----as the old tales were told.
Citizenship with your sovereignty —till she was three—that...

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