I love taking glances at you
While I take photos of your romantic Pose
between the teeth
holdin a red rose!

sugar cane berry stains

lost friends life's bends

mountain still, in the end




there and back i've seen

we were kids, you were teens

we learned a lot where we've been




one more shot before we go

that sacred breath you always know-

when to call it a day

Six-feet between me and
forty-six vignettes of adventurous times.
The slick, shiny gloss used to put a sheen
on moments made for smiling.
Now, ancient beaches and haunting deserts,
where my footprints are planted,
are a dream I fight to remember
after the alarm sounds.
Aches for lost chances of overpriced
airport snacks
and shared glances with strangers
seem to slowly construct "fun's" obituary
on the bored corners of my mind.
But I wait, six-feet away,
to relive it all anyway.
Six-feet between me and some one-hour photos.
Six-feet between me and a graveyard of freedoms.

Snapshots
by Michael R. Burch

Here I scrawl extravagant rainbows.
And there you go, skipping your way to school.
And here we are, drifting apart
like untethered balloons.

Here I am, creating "art,"
chanting in shadows,
pale as the crinoline moon,
ignoring your face.

There you go,
in diaphanous lace,
making another man’s heart swoon.
Suddenly, unthinkably, here he is,
taking my place.

Published by Tucumcari Literary Review, Romantics Quarterly, Centrifugal Eye, Poetry Webring, Poetry Life & Times and The Eclectic Muse. Keywords/Tags: snapshot, picture, photograph, photo, album, memory, keepsake, remembrance, token, memento, art, replacement

A cat jumps around in the moonlight,
Scared a little sparrow.
A peony flower opens,
her white dress blushed.
A swarm of bees came and went,
Flowers were being embroidered.
A frog is playing the music,
A white lily danced with joy.
A princess on the lake smiled,
Lotus around like knights.
Gently lying in the arms of the water,
Splash! a group of goldfish jumped out.
It's a beautiful paradise.
The moon drew a priceless picture.

While the time is still on our hands
Let me come with you
In every destinations you'll go
So I can take a picture
of every moment you do
So that I have a treasure to keep
I'll savor every moment that we spent
So I can still memorize your face
So I can remember your exploits
Your flaws, and your mannerisms
In case you'll leave me.
But I know it will be hard for me to let go
If you didn't want me to tag along with you anymore
It is a dangerous destination you say, I wouldn't ever want to see
So I obeyed you, because all i want is to keep happy memories inside my pocket
So I won't come and set you free
I don't want to capture a girl lying on a casket
And I don't wanna remember your death anniversary.

Au premier regard
Une photo noir et blanc
Révélée d'une pellicule Kodak Ilford Agfa Fuji 50 asa
Qui flotte dans un bain d'arrêt entre alcalin et câlin.
Au deuxième regard
Un sourire mutin tatin
Mâtin lutin satin
Qui dévoile des fossettes sans retouches.
Au troisième regard
Un film ancien
Hitchkock, Preminguer
Une héroïne, une sainte
Jeanne d'Arc .
Au quatrième regard
Le désir d'en savoir plus
Sur cette Jean Seberg ressuscitée,
Reine de Saba virtuelle.
Regard sur le texte court et concis :
"Cherche homme vrai et honnête
A vingt kilomètres maximum."
Au sixième regard
Regard sur moi même dans le miroir
Vrai? Honnête?
En tout cas pas faux ni malhonnête.
Ni faux nez ni faux profil.
Et une interrogation.
Vrai et honnête égale nu et sincère ?
Au septième regard j'ai eu envie de vous dire
Que j'existais à 20 kilomètres de vous
Et je me suis présenté sur papuer glacé
Et vous m'avez dit tout simplement
A bientôt.
Deux petits mots si simples
Une préposition et un adverbe
Porteurs de tant de sens propres
et figurés.
Ainsi commence notre aventure
Et je nous souhaite bon vent
Mutin satin mâtin lutin tatin
Et des milliers d'autres regards
Nus et sincères
Ou pour utiliser votre syntaxe
Vrais et honnêtes.

A picture captures a moment,
Entrapping it for view.
If I reach into the frame
Clutch and claim,
Can I have that moment anew?