Sweet Centerless Sixteen
by Michael R. Burch

Inconsolable as “love” had left your heart,
you woke this morning eager to pursue
warm lips again, or something “really cool”
on which to press your lips and leave their mark.

As breath upon a windowpane at dawn
soon glows, a spreading halo full of sun,
your thought of love blinks wildly—on and on ...
then fizzles at the center, and is gone.

Keywords/Tags: humor, light verse, sweet, sixteen, never, kissed, lips, lipstick, puppy, love, infatuation, flirt, flirting, short attention span

your eyes had always guided me.
unconsciously, I follow that beady sight.
they allow me to see,
the purest of the night.

your lips had always guide my move
unknowingly, I obey your delicate brim.
they allow me to prove
that this world is not so grim.

thus, I shall always seek
that face of yours so I'll be guided.
without you, I surely will be weak.
however, our world now is divided.

Stay With Me Tonight
by Michael R. Burch

Stay with me tonight;
be gentle with me as the leaves are gentle
falling to the earth.
And whisper, O my love,
how that every bright thing, though scattered afar,
retains yet its worth.

Stay with me tonight;
be as a petal long-awaited blooming in my hand.
Lift your face to mine
and touch me with your lips
till I feel the warm benevolence of your breath’s
heady fragrance like wine.

That which we had
when pale and waning as the dying moon at dawn,
outshone the sun.
And so lead me back tonight
through bright waterfalls of light
to where we shine as one.

Originally published by The Lyric. Keywords/Tags: love, stay, tonight, gentle, bright, touch, whisper, face, hands, lips, breath, wine, moon, sun, light, earth, leaves, petal, petals, bloom, blooming, waterfalls, shine, shining

The Quickening
by Michael R. Burch

for Beth

I never meant to love you
when I held you in my arms
promising you sagely
wise, noncommittal charms.

And I never meant to need you
when I touched your tender lips
with kisses that intrigued my own –
such kisses I had never known,
nor a heartbeat in my fingertips!

Keywords/Tags: love, quickening, lips, tender, kisses, intrigued, intriguing, heart, heartbeat, pulse, desire

A blessed wine

Which stains  the richest lips

Plump fruit to kiss

To taste

To sip

In search of love divine

her eyes were green
with golden flecks
candy apple red staining
the center ring
flowing out into a dark forest ivy
her lips soft and plump
like bubblegum
puckered out like
a blooming flower
rosey cheeks painted
with a gentle watercolor
and freckles speckling
her little button nose
like snow
last of all her hair
the perfect strawberry field
red, auburn, ginger
smelling fresh and pure
she smiles