Epigrams IV

Epigrams by Michael R. Burch

Sex Hex
by Michael R. Burch

Love’s full of cute paradoxes
(and highly acute poxes).

Love
by Michael R. Burch

Love is either wholly folly,
or fully holy.

Nun Fun Undone
by Michael R. Burch

Abbesses'
recesses
are not for excesses!

Here and Hereafter
by Michael R. Burch

Life’s saving graces are love, pleasure, laughter ...
wisdom, it seems, is for the Hereafter.

Housman was right ...
by Michael R. Burch

It's true that life’s not much to lose,
so why not hang out on a cloud?
It’s just that the passage is hard
and the objections loud.

Not Elves, Exactly
by Michael R. Burch

Something there is that likes a wall,
that likes it spiked and likes it tall,

that likes its pikes’ sharp rows of teeth
and doesn’t mind its victims’ grief

(wherever they come from, far or wide)
as long as they fall on the other side.

Self-ish
by Michael R. Burch

Let’s not pretend we “understand” other elves
As long as we remain mysteries to ourselves.

Long Division
by Michael R. Burch

All things become one
Through death’s long division
And perfect precision.

Laughter’s Cry
by Michael R. Burch

Because life is a mystery, we laugh
and do not know the half.

Because death is a mystery, we cry
when one is gone, our numbering thrown awry.

Piecemeal
by Michael R. Burch

And so it begins―the ending.
The narrowing veins, the soft tissues rending.
Your final solution is pending.

Meal Deal
by Michael R. Burch

Love is a splendid ideal
(at least till it costs us a meal).

Lance-Lot
by Michael R. Burch

Preposterous bird!
Inelegant! Absurd! …
Until the great & mighty heron
brandishes his fearsome sword.

Why the Kid Gloves Came Off
by Michael R. Burch

for Lemuel Ibbotson

It's hard to be a man of taste
in such a waste:
hence the lambaste.

Redefinitions

Faith: falling into the same old claptrap.―Michael R. Burch

Religion: the ties that blind.―Michael R. Burch

Trickle down economics: an especially pungent golden shower.―Michael R. Burch

Baseball: lots of spittin’ mixed with some hittin’.―Michael R. Burch

Early Warning System
by Michael R. Burch

A hairy thick troglodyte, Mary,
squinched dingles excessively airy.
To her family’s deep shame,
their condo became
the first cave to employ a canary!

Descent
by Michael R. Burch

I have listened to the rain all this morning
and it has a certain gravity,
as if it knows its destination,
perhaps even its particular destiny.
I do not believe mine is to be uplifted,
although I, too, may be flung precipitously
and from a great height.

Reading between the lines
by Michael R. Burch

Who could have read so much, as we?
Having the time, but not the inclination,
TV has become our philosophy,
sheer boredom, our recreation.

Two-Liners

Fierce ancient skalds summoned verse from their guts;
today’s genteel poets prefer modern ruts.
―Michael R. Burch

Q: What do you call it when a Man-Baby takes over the American government?
A: Coup d'Tot.
―Michael R. Burch

Fleet Tweet: Apologies to Shakespeare

a tweet
by any other name
would be as fleet!
@mikerburch

Fleet Tweet II: Further Apologies to Shakespeare

Remember, doggonit,
heroic verse crowns the Shakespearean sonnet!
So if you intend to write a couplet,
please do it on the doublet!
@mikerburch

Native American Prayer

loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Help us learn the lessons you have left us here

in every leaf and rock.

Honey-Suckle
by Michael R. Burch

I sampled honeysuckle

and it made my taste buds buckle.

Original Prose Epigrams

We can't change the past, but we can learn from it.�"Michael R. Burch

Time will tell, as it always does in the end.�"Michael R. Burch

Experience is the best teacher but a hard taskmaster.�"Michael R. Burch

The best tonic for other people's bad ideas is to think for oneself.�"Michael R. Burch

An ideal that cannot be realized is, in the end, just wishful thinking.�"Michael R. Burch

When I was being bullied, I had to learn not to judge myself by the opinions of intolerant morons. Then I felt much better.�"Michael R. Burch

Intolerance is unsuccessful because one cannot argue successfully against success.�"Michael R. Burch

Poetry is the art of finding the right word at the right time.�"Michael R. Burch

The best epigrams delight us into wisdom.�"Michael R. Burch

Wayne Gretzky was pure skill poured into skates.�"Michael R. Burch

Wayne Gretzky was pure skill poured into skates.�"Michael R. Burch

Cassidy Hutchinson is not only credible, but her courage and poise under fire have been incredible. �" Michael R. Burch

Cassidy Hutchinson is a modern Erin Brockovich except that in her case the well has been poisoned for the whole country. �" Michael R. Burch

One man's coronation is another man's consternation.�"Michael R. Burch

The most dangerous words ever uttered by human lips are 'Thus saith the LORD.' �" Michael R. Burch

Hell has been hellishly overdone.�"Michael R. Burch