too lonely to beat
too painful to bear

hold on tight
and make it right

take off the mask
and let them watch

they are the judge
to make things right

I love You because
you're like
Poetry to me -

filling up my lungs
with fresh, thin breeze;

I love You because
you make my Heart
skip a beat -

for it can't take
this drumming - crazy -
that's growing inside of me.

If you have nothing new to say.
Nothing true to say.

Shut the **** up.

Stop feeding off of others words.
They got them from someone else’s plate.

We’ve all had a taste of them, they’re on the ******* dollar menu.

I can’t stand hearing cheap ****,
shut up and go take a hit.
Maybe in your daze,
you’ll find something amaze.

Then write about that.
Not something run over on the road.
Love’s practically flat.

I want to see a flash from a barrel,
and hear a bang from a muzzle.
Every ******* time I read a pseudo-love poem.

Put down the pen on love.
I’m ashamed of the poems I’ve writ about it.
Thinking I had knowledge of something so powerful.

If it’s real, you can’t put it into words.
Let it stay that way.
Indescribable.
Don’t let a pen astray,
on something in an ashtray.

This bridge has been burned for too long.

She Gathered Lilacs
by Michael R. Burch

for Beth

She gathered lilacs
and arrayed them in her hair;
tonight, she taught the wind to be free.

She kept her secrets
in a silver locket;
her companions were starlight and mystery.

She danced all night
to the beat of her heart;
with her tears she imbued the sea.

She hid her despair
in a crystal jar,
and never revealed it to me.

She kept her distance
as though it were armor;
gauntlet thorns guard her heart like the rose.

Love!—awaken, awaken
to see what you’ve taken
is still less than the due my heart owes!

Published by The Neovictorian/Cochlea, The Eclectic Muse (Canada), Shabestaneh (Iran), Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry, The Chained Muse, Inspirational Stories and Captivating Poetry (Anthology)

Keywords/Tags: Love, lilacs, hair, wind, secrets, locket, starlight, mystery, heart, beat, tears, sea, despair, crystal, jar, distance, armor, rose, thorns, due, heart, owes