What Goes Around, Comes
by Michael R. Burch

This is a poem about loss
so why do you toss your dark hair—
unaccountably glowing?

How can you be sure of my heart
when it’s beyond my own knowing?

Or is it love’s pheromones you trust,
my eyes magnetized by your bust
and the mysterious alchemies of lust?

Now I am truly lost!

Keywords/Tags: love, lust, pheromones, chemistry, alchemy, alchemies, bust, *******, hair, attraction, eyes, stare, ogle

cannot publicly acknowledge the existence of angels,
Such an outrageous act has been outlawed by the council.
So here I am to tell you about these nonexistent beings.
They come from a place called heaven, a serene place
Lying in the clouds that do not fade; they are everlasting.
In heaven they soar free, using their feathery wings,
Which glisten like scheelite in the eternally dawning sun.
Their halos are a gold, 10 carats more pure than the element,
And seemingly glow, even in the most minimal light.

And their souls, as pure as a diatomic gas,
As white as the everlasting magnesium flame.
But most importantly, their souls glow like the firey sun,
Always ready to make us happy, and eternal in existence.

But I once again forget, as a note is passed my way,
That “angels,” in fact, “do not actually exist”
Signed,
The council.
It also says to stop talking about these forms,
Or I will be detained... then executed...
Welp, that’s a sour note to leave on...
Bye.

My life has a reaction entropy of positive infinity

WHERE THE SHADOWS OF LIGHT AND DARK
HAZING IN ICE COLD WEATHER
WHETHER THE SKY IS ILLUMINATING THE SWORD OF WATER
CARBONATED WITH CRYSTAL STONES
PERHAPS IT INCLUDES THE MAGICAL POWER OF LIGHTNING THUNDER.
WORDS THAT IS TATTOED IN MY ARMS
CLASHING AND DUMPING IN AN AREA
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES
BENEATH THE STARSEEDS OF HYDROGEN
AND OXYGEN.
COME OH COME
LUCIFER THE ENEMY OF MY EMPTINESS.
IAM COLD AND HOT INSIDE THE *** OF MY INTRIGUING MIND.
DON’T LOSE ME
HOPE OF MY DREAMSCAPE SEA.
TAILING MY OLD SELF SCARF.
BUT I AM THE WHEEL OF FORTUNES.
LUCKY IS TODAY.
LUCKY IS TOMORROW.
LUCKY IS THE ONE YOU CAN REACH OUT
TO YOUR HANDS.
SYMBOLIZING THE ETHEREAL FLOURIDE
OXYGENATED WATER OF DREAM AND RIVER OF HOPE.
TILTED IN MY HEAD OH WHY OH WHY
SUCH POOR THING OF ENERGY LEVEL.
PUT YOUR ARMS ON MY SHOULDER.
BRING ME TO HEAVEN AND EARTH.

He lay there in a *****, unkept ball,
Having surrendered to the pavement.
Wisps of stringy brown hair
Covered the lines on his sunken in face,
His yellow smoked eyes, rheumy and blurred,
His vision hazy, like a punch-drunk boxer.

Kathleen Harmon sashayed by
With nary a glace downward.
Once they were equals,
When they sat together
During high school Chemistry.

Time slowed from a Tango to a Waltz,
As a drop of saliva
Kissed the pavement.
Stringing there from his cracked, parted lips.

His tangled brown whiskers,
Patchy on his cheeks,
Had lengthened with the passing days
Since their last meeting with a razor.

Nikes, Prada, and Gucci
Ignore him in passing
All sports, fashion, and business meetings;
On the clock, and self-absorbed.

Dusk marked the sky
With a violet crayon
Worn to a nub,
Then worn to nothing.

A sudden thud startled him awake!
Then blackened hardwood stunned him as it bit into his ribs!
A caustic voice berated his slumber,
A navy blue reminder that even surrender was no escape.

This is my brain on drugs
This is my brain in love

The high is so good
To feel understood
To feel so secure by your touch

When I wake up and thank Jesus for another day
I feel guilty, as I wrestle
to keep thoughts of you at bay.

Tho I always win
You're my whiskey, my gin

And I reach for you after I pray.