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).​

We live on planet Earth, not in heaven

​Religion gives us an illusion,
A real form of fiction,
We live on Earth,
People love fantasies,
Which heaven and hell are,
There are no angels or devils,
No ghosts or saints,
Religion is full of false promises and exaggerated claims,
Yet, people still go to church,
Pedophilia still runs rampant,
Again, believe what you want here,
Religion causes too many problems,
No answers as well,
Science is enough for me,
Always will be,
Take care for now,
Believe what you want,
It is a free world,
Atheism works for me,
And again, carpe diem.

​Marriage is work, a lot of work

​I have never married,
Thankfully,
To me, it is a waste of time,
Between the stress,
The financial strains,
Most end in divorce,
Year after year with the same person,
If it goes that long,
Then children, if you choose to have them,
Cohabitation makes sense,
At least the couple is not married,
Believe what you want here,
It is up to you,
There are people who like to be married,
I am not one of them,
Take care for now,
Do what makes you happy,
And may tomorrow bring goodness to you,
Again, carpe diem.