Hello Poetry
Submit your work and get some sparkles! Create free account
michael-r-burchPoems
Happily Never After (the Second Curse of the ***** Toad) by Michael R. Burch He did not think of love of Her at all frog-plangent nights, as moons engoldened roads through crumbling stonewalled provinces, where toads (nee princes) ruled in chinks and grew so small at last to be invisible. He smiled (the fables erred so curiously), and thought bemusedly of being reconciled to human flesh, because his heart was not incapable of love, but, being cursed a second time, could only love a toad’s . . . and listened as inflated frogs rehearsed cheekbulging tales of anguish from green moats . . . and thought of her soft croak, her skin fine-warted, his anemic flesh, and how true love was thwarted. Originally published by Romantics Quarterly. Keywords/Tags: frog, ***** toad, prince, princess, curse, kiss, fable, true, love, magic, spell, croak, kingdom Happily Never After by Michael R. Burch Happily never after, we lived unmerrily (write it!—like disaster) in Our Kingdom by the See as the man from Porlock’s laughter drowned out love’s threnody. We ditched the red wheelbarrow in slovenly Tennessee and made a picturebook of poems, a postcard for Tse-Tse, a list of resolutions we knew we couldn’t keep, and asylum decorations for the King in his dark sleep. We made it new so often strange newness, wearing old, peeled off, and something rotten gleamed dull yellow, not like gold:— like carelessness, or cowardice, and redolent of *** We stumbled off, our awkwardness—new Keystone comedy. Huge cloudy symbols blocked the sun; onlookers strained to see. We said We were the only One. Our gaseous Melody had made us Joshuas, and so—the Bible, new-rewrit, with god removed, replaced by Show and Glyphics and Sanskrit, seemed marvelous to Us, although King Ezra said, “It’s S—t.” We spent unhappy hours in Our Kingdom of the Pea, drunk on such Awesome Power only Emperors can See. We were Imagists and Vorticists, Projectivists, a Dunce, Anarchists and Antarcticists and anti-Christs, and once We’d made the world Our oyster and stowed away the pearl of Our too-, too-polished wisdom, unanchored of the world, We sailed away to Lilliput, to Our Kingdom by the See and piped the rats to join Us, to live unmerrily hereever and hereafter, in Our Kingdom of the Pea, in the miniature ship Disaster in a jar in Tennessee. More Nonsense Verse by Michael R. Burch There was an old man from Peru who dreamed he was eating his shoe. He awoke in the night with a terrible fright to discover his dream had come true. —Variation on a classic limerick by Michael R. Burch Although I prefer onions to bunions, begging your pardon sir, I still primarily defer to legal ****** —Michael R. Burch Anti-Vegan Manifesto by Michael R. Burch Let us avoid lettuce, sincerely, and also celery! Ding **** ... by Michael R. Burch for Fliss An impertinent bit of sunlight defeated a goddess, NIGHT. "Hooray!," cried the clover, "Her reign is over! But she certainly gave us a fright!" The Flu Fly Flew by Michael R. Burch A fly with the flu foully flew up my nose—thought I’d die—had to sue! Was the small villain fined? An abrupt judge declined my case, since I’d “failed to achoo!” The Humpback by Michael R. Burch The humpback is a gullet equipped with snarky fins. It has a winning smile: and when it SMILES, it wins as miles and miles of herring excite its fearsome grins. So beware, unwary whalers, lest you drown, sans feet and shins! Hell-Bound Hounds by Michael R. Burch We have five dogs and every one’s a sinner! I swear it’s true—they’ll steal each other’s dinner! They’ll **** before they’re married. That’s unlawful! They’ll even ***** in public*. Eek, so awful! And when it’s time for treats (don’t gasp!), they’ll beg! They have no pride! They’ll even **** your leg! Our oldest Yorkie murdered dear, sweet Olive, our helpless hamster! None will go to college or work to pay their room and board, or vets! When the Devil says, *** here!” they all yip, “Let’s!” And yet they’re sweet and loyal, so I doubt the Lord will dump them in hell’s dark redoubt... which means there’s hope for you, perhaps for me. But as for cats? I say, “Best wait and see.” Menu Venue by Michael R. Burch At the passing of the shark the dolphins cried Hark!; cute cuttlefish sighed, *Gee there will be a serener sea to its utmost periphery!*; the dogfish barked, so joyously!; pink porpoises piped Whee! excitedly, delightedly. But ... Will there be as much glee when there’s no you and me? Kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ by Michael R. Burch Kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ the bees rise in a dizzy circle of two. Oh, when I’m with you, I feel like kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ too.
0
Apr 4, 2020
Apr 4, 2020 at 6:15 AM UTC
Happily Never After (the Second Curse of the ***** Toad)
Happily Never After (the Second Curse of the ***** Toad) by Michael R. Burch He did not think of love of Her at all frog-plangent nights, as moons engoldened roads through crumbling stonewalled provinces, where toads (nee princes) ruled in chinks and grew so small at last to be invisible. He smiled (the fables erred so curiously), and thought bemusedly of being reconciled to human flesh, because his heart was not incapable of love, but, being cursed a second time, could only love a toad’s . . . and listened as inflated frogs rehearsed cheekbulging tales of anguish from green moats . . . and thought of her soft croak, her skin fine-warted, his anemic flesh, and how true love was thwarted. Originally published by Romantics Quarterly. Keywords/Tags: frog, ***** toad, prince, princess, curse, kiss, fable, true, love, magic, spell, croak, kingdom Happily Never After by Michael R. Burch Happily never after, we lived unmerrily (write it!—like disaster) in Our Kingdom by the See as the man from Porlock’s laughter drowned out love’s threnody. We ditched the red wheelbarrow in slovenly Tennessee and made a picturebook of poems, a postcard for Tse-Tse, a list of resolutions we knew we couldn’t keep, and asylum decorations for the King in his dark sleep. We made it new so often strange newness, wearing old, peeled off, and something rotten gleamed dull yellow, not like gold:— like carelessness, or cowardice, and redolent of *** We stumbled off, our awkwardness—new Keystone comedy. Huge cloudy symbols blocked the sun; onlookers strained to see. We said We were the only One. Our gaseous Melody had made us Joshuas, and so—the Bible, new-rewrit, with god removed, replaced by Show and Glyphics and Sanskrit, seemed marvelous to Us, although King Ezra said, “It’s S—t.” We spent unhappy hours in Our Kingdom of the Pea, drunk on such Awesome Power only Emperors can See. We were Imagists and Vorticists, Projectivists, a Dunce, Anarchists and Antarcticists and anti-Christs, and once We’d made the world Our oyster and stowed away the pearl of Our too-, too-polished wisdom, unanchored of the world, We sailed away to Lilliput, to Our Kingdom by the See and piped the rats to join Us, to live unmerrily hereever and hereafter, in Our Kingdom of the Pea, in the miniature ship Disaster in a jar in Tennessee. More Nonsense Verse by Michael R. Burch There was an old man from Peru who dreamed he was eating his shoe. He awoke in the night with a terrible fright to discover his dream had come true. —Variation on a classic limerick by Michael R. Burch Although I prefer onions to bunions, begging your pardon sir, I still primarily defer to legal ****** —Michael R. Burch Anti-Vegan Manifesto by Michael R. Burch Let us avoid lettuce, sincerely, and also celery! Ding **** ... by Michael R. Burch for Fliss An impertinent bit of sunlight defeated a goddess, NIGHT. "Hooray!," cried the clover, "Her reign is over! But she certainly gave us a fright!" The Flu Fly Flew by Michael R. Burch A fly with the flu foully flew up my nose—thought I’d die—had to sue! Was the small villain fined? An abrupt judge declined my case, since I’d “failed to achoo!” The Humpback by Michael R. Burch The humpback is a gullet equipped with snarky fins. It has a winning smile: and when it SMILES, it wins as miles and miles of herring excite its fearsome grins. So beware, unwary whalers, lest you drown, sans feet and shins! Hell-Bound Hounds by Michael R. Burch We have five dogs and every one’s a sinner! I swear it’s true—they’ll steal each other’s dinner! They’ll **** before they’re married. That’s unlawful! They’ll even ***** in public*. Eek, so awful! And when it’s time for treats (don’t gasp!), they’ll beg! They have no pride! They’ll even **** your leg! Our oldest Yorkie murdered dear, sweet Olive, our helpless hamster! None will go to college or work to pay their room and board, or vets! When the Devil says, *** here!” they all yip, “Let’s!” And yet they’re sweet and loyal, so I doubt the Lord will dump them in hell’s dark redoubt... which means there’s hope for you, perhaps for me. But as for cats? I say, “Best wait and see.” Menu Venue by Michael R. Burch At the passing of the shark the dolphins cried Hark!; cute cuttlefish sighed, *Gee there will be a serener sea to its utmost periphery!*; the dogfish barked, so joyously!; pink porpoises piped Whee! excitedly, delightedly. But ... Will there be as much glee when there’s no you and me? Kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ by Michael R. Burch Kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ the bees rise in a dizzy circle of two. Oh, when I’m with you, I feel like kissin’ ’n’ buzzin’ too.
#frog#toad#prince#princess#curse#kiss#fable#true#love
Written by
michael-r-burch
62/M/Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 4, 2020
Apr 4, 2020 at 6:15 AM UTC
Request permission to use this poem