KEITH BURKHOLDER - POEMS

​Keith Burkholder has been published in Creative Juices, Sol Magazine, Trellis Magazine, Foliate Oak Literary Journal, New Delta Review, Poetry Quarterly, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Birmingham Arts Journal.  He has a bachelor's degree in statistics with a minor in mathematics from SUNY at Buffalo (UB).​

​Leave the gays alone, more women for me

​It has been a while since I have dated,
Yet, more women for me,
Gay men are the way they are through evolution,
They are attracted to the same gender,
Imagine if everyone was straight,
Dating would be impossible for many,
It would be constant competition in this world,
Gay people allow dating to be easier for straights,
I have never been straight bashed,
I would never gay bash a person,
They are human,
Just like the rest of us,
People need to take it easy,
And develop an open mind,
This will take time,
Most straight people don't like change,
Being good is what counts,
Take care for now,
Be good and try to be better,
Human kindness is rare nowadays,
May tomorrow be better,
And may this world overcome COVID-19 as time carries forward.

Again, the human race makes life for others horrible
​

​COVID-19 exists,
It has devastated too many humans,
Again, blame the human race for this debacle,
Humans are wired mentally due to evolution,
God and Jesus are fictional characters,
They are supposed to be perfect,
Yet, COVID-19 has affected millions,
Why do people believe in God and Jesus?
That is question I have no answer for at all,
Hopefully, a vaccine will be developed soon,
Hopefully, COVID-19 will disappear,
Humans have always thrived under diversity,
Humans are the way they are due to evolution,
Science will have an answer for COVID-19,
Not religion,
Religion has already caused too many problems for humans,
Believe what you want here,
It is up to you,
Take care for now,
Be good and safe,
And again, many times over, carpe diem.

​Charles Darwin is correct about evolution

Look at the events that have happened in the world,
From COVID-19,
To the protests at the Capitol building in Washington DC,
You have Black Lives Matter,
To more racism in general,
If you look at the data,
Evolution is the cause of these happenings,
God and Jesus do not exist,
They never have or will,
I expect a lot from perfect beings,
There is no perfection in the world,
Not an iota,
Being a perfectionist is not being perfect,
We are not perfect,
No one is,
I go with science,
Science is reality,
It is tangible proof on our lives and existence,
Again, this is a free world,
Believe what you want,
I choose atheism,
It works for me,
Always will,
Take care for now,
Be good and safe,
And may a better tomorrow happen,
For now, carpe diem.

​I Expect Perfection from God and Jesus

​God and Jesus do not exist,
There is no perfection in the world,
A person can be a perfectionist,
No one is perfect,
I am far from perfect,
There are too many problems out there,
Thanks to evolution,
Evolution is a reality,
God and Jesus are not realities,
They are fictional characters,
Like Bugs Bunny and Toucan Sam,
Believe what you want here,
It is a free world,
No one will ever be perfect,
God will never exist,
The same goes for his sidekick, Jesus,
Take care for now,
Be safe,
And may COVID-19 disappear as soon as possible,
And many times over, carpe diem.

​I have never found Jesus or God

​Where are they hiding out?
I have never saw them,
Do they even exist?
I do not believe in their whereabouts,
Fantasies,
How do you see this?
Religion of any kind is a form of mind control,
It is hard to see things when they cannot be apparent,
I like tangible things,
I like to see things that exist,
Believe what you want here,
This is up to you,
Take care,
Be safe,
And many times over, carpe diem.

Why is so much money spent on the military?

​Think about this for a moment,
A person needs health care,
Yet, $2.5 trillion dollars is spent on the military,
What is more efficient?
Health care or another military base,
People live and die,
Yet, in my opinion, they need health care,
People want to live for a long time,
Yet, another military base is being built,
I am not a fan of the military,
Never have been,
Never will be,
However, based on reality, we need a strong military,
People are screwed up in this world,
Yet, trillions of dollars are spent on it,
Trillions not billions,
Think about what I have said,
There are too many sick people in the world,
They need health care,
Take care for now,
May COVID-19 disappear,
Be safe,
And may health care change as time carries forward.

The Dead and the Afterlife

​Is there an afterlife?
This is an interesting question,
This is hard to answer,
The dead are dead,
Yet, there is a new life in the future,
Expect what you want here,
This is up to you,
Believe what you want,
Take care for now,
Be good and safe,
And may your expression in life be positive every step of the way.

Voices with positive expressions

​She hears voices,
Where are they from?
Do they have a meaning?
She feels embarrassed,
Yet, has no answer,
The voices fade,
They are powerful,
Full of expression and meaning,
They are gone,
Will they come back again?
Who really knows?
Take this all in and keep an open mind as the future opens its arms.

I expect a lot from all perfect beings

​God and Jesus are perfect, supposedly,
Yet, they never show up on planet Earth,
This is where you and I live,
Constant tensions,
Bullying,
Sexism,
Classicism,
Homophobia,
The works,
Yet, these perfect beings never step in,
Religion takes in billions of dollars,
Yet, no powerful exposure from God and Jesus,
The military takes in trillions of dollars,
Yet, wounded veterans are never taken care of by God and Jesus,
God and Jesus never make a presence,
I am an atheist,
I would love to see Jesus and God,
They are not present,
They do not exist,
Again, believe what you want,
It is a free world,
This is how I feel,
Take care for now and may the future be positive as time carries forward.

Haiku poems

Perfection

​It does not exist,                                                
Perfection is a myth, too,
Keep an open mind.

Pacifism

​A quiet life choice,
A belief that good exists,
Keep your mind open.

***

So, you're a pacifist

​A great choice,
No  wars,
No  guns,
No military,
No  law enforcement,
No major tensions,
Just solitude and peace,
People who are not trouble,
No riots,
No protests,
Just a life of balance,
Most people are not pacifists,
Pacifists mind their own business,
They see life differently than most,
Believe what you want here,
Pacifism is not for everyone,
This is how it is,
Respect pacifists,
This is all you can do,
Tomorrow will come and go,
This is the way it is,
Take care for now,
May a new day arise with optimism as the future ventures in with its beckoning call.

I like tangible things
​

​God and Jesus are not tangible,
Neither are the readings in the Bible,
People like to see and grasp onto things,
They do not happen in religion,
COVID-19 is incredibly tangible,
When will it end?
Believe what you want about tangible things,
They are realities,
Bullying,
Racism, Sexism, and classicism,
They are all tangible,
Fires, smoke, and running water,
They are tangible as well,
Take this into consideration,
This is how it goes,
For now, be good and safe,
This is all that can be said,
As time continues, may it be positive for you as it carries forward,
Again, many times forward, carpe diem.

What is the point in raising children in this world?
​

​Children are overrated,
Especially in today's day and age,
People want children,
Yet, when the responsibilities pile up, they want to back out,
It is a very different world than the 1950's,
Optimism was a lot higher in the past,
Today, the world is unpredictable,
People are too self absorbed and obsessed to be decent parents,
I am not saying everyone, the majority,
Divorce is extremely high,
People need to look at the ramifications of having children,
Abuse happens,
Bullying in the schools,
Suicide,
The expense in general,
The list in endless,
I have no children,
I am not married,
These are by choice,
The world in general is too messed up to marry and have children,
Think about what I have said here,
It is a free world,
Believe what you want,
Take care for now,
Be safe and good,
For the future will carry forward as time passes on.

When it comes to humanity, control
is the main function in its existence

​Look at the military,
Law enforcement,
Humans in general,
Control is what matters,
Name a true friend you have,
Chances are it does not exist,
This is for many people,
Humans are control freaks,
They are not truly friends,
People love conflict,
They love control,
I can go on and on,
This is how it is,
With regards to humanity,
Believe what you want here,
There is no right or wrong answer,
Humans continue to evolve,
This is a part of life,
Take care for now,
Be good and safe,
May COVID-19 end,
And may the future be brighter as time carries forward.

When you die, you are not going to care
​

​People obsess a lot,
Especially about children,
They want to have them,
Yet, when you die, you won't care,
Children are a headache,
They only care about themselves,
Selfless people understand about the ramifications of children,
The selfless ones don't have them,
Death is a serious thing,
It will happen to all of us,
Besides, who wants to tell children that they will die someday?
This isn't morbid,
Just reality,
Believe what you want here,
It is a free world,
Take care and be safe,
COVID-19 is still around,
For a new day will arise as time carries forward,
Again, many times over, carpe diem.

We love to fight and control one another

Humans love tensions,
This is based on evolution,
The Bible is a story book,
If you look at humanity, humans have always loved to fight,
And control one another,
The Bible is a book that is not realistic in nature,
People love to compete,
They love to backstab one another,
Humans more or less tolerate one another,
Best friends cease to exist in our world,
Whereas, acquaintances are the norm,
Believe what you want here,
Believe in the Bible,
I don't care,
Just don't push your religion on me,
I am an atheist,
Science works for me,
Be good for now,
Try to be an asset for society,
Try to spread goodness without religion,
That is more prestigious,
Take care,
May COVID-19 disappear,
Let the future be positive for you as the future carries forward one day at a time.

Dead bodies whose spirits come to life on Earth
​

​Of course this is a fantasy,
A war took place and the dead bodies were burned,
They were burned in massive fire in town,
Yet, the dead would come to life again,
This happened two years after this burning,
They came to life as spirits,
There presence was felt by the living,
They could see life again this way,
Yet, they would disappear at will,
Many innocent people were killed,
It was total torture for these people,
This is what a war can do to others,
Spirits can be friendly or bad tempered,
Over time, they explored this town,
They made their presence often,
Then they would disappear,
What does the future bring for them?
Who really knows?
That is the mystery of the dead,
Take this all in,
Keep an open mind,
This what can happen or not as time carries forward.