Long Ariel Poems

World War II Poems and Holocaust Poems - VI - Chaim Nachman Bialik, Erich Fried

After My Death
by Chaim Nachman Bialik
translation by Michael R. Burch

Say this when you eulogize me: 
Here was a man—now, poof, he's...

Read More

The Story
by Kamal Nasser
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I will tell you a story ...
a story that lived in the dreams of my people,
a story that comes from the world of tents.
It is a story...

Read More

"The Precipice"



In the Autumn 
she wore a wedding veil
A cold winter would lift it
Kiss her lips passionately to 
speak words of 
LOVE
on a 
late roll call

“Well, that’s insanity for you” 
some snakes would hiss
others rapture-faced
on...

Read More

K373 and K374 of the THIRUKKURAL: Translated with Commentary

The poet's name, THIRUVALLUVAR [Thiru = Sacred and Valluvar = the name of the priesthood caste of the « Pariah » (whom Mahatma Gandhi prefered to call...

Read More

 
Lux Vitae Love Stories of The Fey:

“In the Clouds”



“What are you looking at Mum?”
“They come in the clouds you know”, she said to her daughter
“Every night, the same time, the numbers seem to grow,...

Read More

The True Story Of Ariel

You know the story 'bout Ariel
The one that’s on the Disney cereal
Who came to the happy soppy ending
With the prince and herself winding up kissing?

Well, it’s about time you knew the...

Read More

I'm the most unlikely one to interview a goldfish
but we've lived in the same house for a few years.
It's really hard to tell, but I think I've seen her tears.
I wonder what she'd want if...

Read More

I’ve been runnin'

Out of breath,
cold sweat, lungs burnin'

But these legs, they move but they aint goin’ -
no place, no distance can be found between the chased and the chaser
cuz they’re one and the same

The hunter...

Read More

I take no Joy in telling my tale but I will tell it if I'm Abel;
so I'll Taylor this story to be Ernest and true,
but to be Frank, if per Chance you see through my...

Read More

You got hit with a earthquake 
Not once but twice 
Because of your ugly hearts
But yet y'all still violating
How much more shame do you need
For you to get it.

Father dare 
I'm a grown woman of...

Read More

I emerged / born with a silver pen in hand
…and a tempest raging within.
Words writhe, a serpent's coil
…tightening their grip
A soul adrift in a sea of 
…self-made iniquity.

I buried my daddy 
…in the black shoe
…by...

Read More

In my mind's eye I see this incredible vision that would make a beautiful African painting. Perhaps I shall try to make it real. 

I dedicate this poem to the women of Africa. Be inspired...

Read More

Woke is New Slur


“I guess, woke is nothing but a new slur against people like me, right? Let me tell you, friend. Like Ariel, I want black people to be where they will be accepted....

Read More

Whilst cute quotations, and perfectly formed sentences have been reared and pampered on the lawns of perfectly kept estates...

These words...
These words have been sweat.
These words have been cried. 
These words have been bled. 

These words have been...

Read More

My whole armor of God                              ...

Read More

Dog Star

The clarity with which youthful vision perceives the world
Is increasingly fogged by the successive days of life.
Simple magnanimity is replaced by complex reservation.
Knowledge is replaced by uncertainty.
Hope is replaced by the leaden awareness of...

Read More

Mr. Wiggles the stuffed “punk pig” , he wasn’t always this way. Before the safety pins in his little nose and “Dead Kennedy’s” patch on his soft, fuzzy, pink back, he was a loving, clean,...

Read More

Through the whispering pines, down the valley's deep
And wide, do they call unto one another, the brother's
Of the winds.
North chases east to west, as south's warming breath,
Begs to play also, once around the world, over...

Read More

Mama was going to be very busy today
(very busy cos it was Saturday)
There were jobs and work to do 
Piles of clothes and washing too
Usually she would be preoccupied
And the children will have a day...

Read More

I'm sorry
I'm sorry
My audience
My audience of one
my audience of ten 
my audience of who is grateful enough to listen
I know you've heard enough of me today
but I just need a distraction
I just need an outlet
I...

Read More

Friends
I know I said I'd be nothing without them
I said whenever they'd need me
I'd always be there
I'd always be right there
I said I don't throw away friends
I said, I said, I said
and no one knows...

Read More

“ 5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blown chaff. Suddenly, in an instant, 6 the LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with...

Read More

Once again, the powers that must
In rise again in what we trust
An overseas conflict, another war
Just what in the hell are we fighting for

Families are asking, Korea has just passed
Generations again reft, how long will...

Read More

Many an angel does wear white,
Though the flawless, blinding, perfect cloth
Is seldom a part of the celestial uniform.

True angelic attire is as often as not
A bloodflecked smock
Inhabited by a cranky, caring cynic
Bent on saving you...

Read More

Fascinated by the dark waters—what lies beneath the harried waves? Cold clings with liquid silk and seaweed; her tail impresses, her flippant lips drown sailors. They smile for the camera, teeth white as their sails....

Read More