By Michael R. BurchMay 41 minEbb TideMassive, gray, these leaden waves bear their unchanging burden— the sameness of each day to day while the wind seems to struggle to say...
By Michael R. BurchDec 19, 20211 minResurrecting PassionLast night, while dawn was far away and rain streaked gray, tumescent skies, as thunder boomed and lightning railed, I conjured words,...
By Michael R. BurchOct 7, 20212 minChit Chat: in the Poetry Chat RoomWHY SHULD I LERN TO SPELL? HELL, NO ONE REEDS WHAT I SAY ANYWAY!!! :( Sing for the cool night, whispers of constellations. Sing for the...
By Michael R. BurchJun 17, 20211 minStep Into StarlightStep into starlight, lovely and wild, lonely and longing, a woman, a child . . . Throw back drawn curtains, enter the night, dream of his...
By Michael R. BurchMay 20, 20211 minInfinityHave you tasted the bitterness of tears of despair? Have you watched the sun sink through such pale, balmless air that your soul sought...
By Michael R. BurchMar 14, 20211 minWill There Be Starlight?Will there be starlight tonight while she gathers damask and lilac and sweet-scented heathers? And will she find flowers, or will she...
By Michael R. BurchNov 22, 20202 minInsurrection & Other PoetryInsurrection She has become as the night—listening for rumors of dawn—while the dew, glistening, reminds me of her, and the wind,...
By Michael R. BurchSep 13, 20202 minTo FlowerWhen Pentheus [“grief’] went into the mountains in the garb of the baccae, his mother [Agave] and the other maenads, possessed by...
By Michael R. BurchAug 12, 20202 minWater and Gold and Other PoemsWater and Gold You came to me as rain breaks on the desert when every flower springs to life at once, but joy’s a wan illusion to the...
By Michael R. BurchJun 1, 20201 minSouthern Icarus and other PoemsSouthern Icarus Windborne, lover of heights, unspooled from the truck’s wildly lurching embrace, you climb, skittish kite . . . What do...
TranslationApr 20, 20202 minSappho's "Hymn to Aphrodite"Immortal Aphrodite, throned in splendor! Wile-weaving daughter of Zeus, enchantress, and beguiler! I implore you, dread mistress,...
By Michael R. BurchMar 9, 20201 minIn the Whispering NightFor George King In the whispering night, when the stars bend low till the hills ignite to a shining flame, when a shower of meteors...
By Michael R. BurchNov 10, 20191 minPan... Among the shadows of the groaning elms, amid the darkening oaks, we fled ourselves ... ... Once there were paths that led to coracles...
By Michael R. BurchAug 26, 20192 minTo Have LovedHelen, bright accompaniment, accouterment of war as sure as all the polished swords of princes groomed to lie in mausoleums all eternity...
By Michael R. BurchDec 1, 20181 minLove Has a Southern FlavorLove has a Southern flavor: honeydew, ripe cantaloupe, the honeysuckle’s spout we tilt to basking faces to breathe out the ordinary, and...
By Michael R. BurchOct 8, 20181 minObservanceHere the hills are old and rolling carefully in their old age; on the horizon youthful mountains bathe themselves in windblown fountains...
By Michael R. BurchJul 23, 20181 min''Moments'' & Other PoemsMoments There were moments full of promise, like the petal-scented rainfall of early spring, when to hold you in my arms and to kiss...
By Michael R. BurchMay 7, 20182 minPoetryPoetry, I found you where at last they chained and bound you; with devices all around you to torture and confound you, I found...
TranslationMay 3, 20181 minIbykos Fragment 286, Circa 564 B.C.Come spring, the grand apple trees stand watered by a gushing river where the maidens’ uncut flowers shiver and the blossoming grape vine...