briefling
by michael r. burch

manishatched,hopsintotheMix,
cavorts,hassex(quick!,spawnan­ewBrood!);
then,likeamayfly,he’ssuddenlygone:
plantfood

NOTE: Here “briefling” is a dimunutive of “brief” and also a pun on “brief fling.” Keywords/Tags: brief, fling, man, hatched, hops, mix, ***, spawn, brood, mayfly, plant food

I sauntered towards the alley of my ambitious hopes;
And trusted my instincts in the course of my venture.
But as i carried my way out through the distant slopes,
I found myself wounded by a string of doubts in the fear of failure.

spark of life
touches earth
leaves crackle and
explode into breath

in deep romance, my
lungs kiss smoke
and Spirit expands within

sinking and
soaking through skin

deep into my roots dripping
into channels of rivers flowing
freely to my brain crackling
with neurons ever grasping
dendritically to reach
nutritious extrapolations
stormy interpretations
and interpolations

crackling
branches of
white birch lightning

The Victoria plum-tree that we planted this year
Is now full of blossom that looks lovely from here
The creamy white flowers and the brightest green leaves
Makes beautiful colour as Springtime relieves.

The garden of Winter, this year so wet
Does blossom herald a ‘best Summer yet.’

It’s quite true of course that village life so snug
Can have a tendency to make one feel smug
But for years our’s has struggled, it now has no shops
And a pub that’s near closure though it still sells the ‘hops.’

We don’t take it lightly the community here
For we know we could lose it which would cost us all dear.

It’s not really the money though the costs would be great
But there’d be no Village Hall and no Summer Fete
No chats with our friends over stiles by the field
Nor any more eggs from the local chicks yield.

We don’t take it lightly the community here
And we will fight to keep it which will cost us all dear.



©JRW2014