Long Avert Poems

World War II Poems and Holocaust Poems - IV - Primo Levi

Shema
by Primo Levi
translation by Michael R. Burch

You who live secure
in your comfortable houses, 
who return each evening to find
warm food, 
welcoming faces...

consider whether this...

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I sung all the night with the Devil,
It seemed harmony had found itself spooning with dissonance
Not indeed needing to be one or the same
Yes—the light indeed could sustain itself in the midst
Of what then was...

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Each ego identity,
whether of busy bee
or slacker sloth,
recreates its uniquely sacred eco-Other,
mutually capable of Win-Win intentional experience
and memory
toward appreciating capital investments
in further living, not deadening, artifacts
through each personal life 
both cooperative and competing
so far.

So
every shrinking...

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De ja vu is seen right before my 7 senses...don't listen to the cries of lies...
Complete me...don't leave me empty - let my 6 become 7 (complete me) This bothersome feeling of disbelief intensifies -...

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If death had a fee I would gladly pay
To see my beloved father everyday
How can I forget this good man
Who left us on the 10th of May
Despite that I prayed to the Lord each and...

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Alone, surrounded by seventeen million humans who call New York home
In a rut, depressed, searching in pain and in vain for hope

A crisp fall day, I venture north to play
The Adirondack valley, mountains borne from...

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I can still feel your spirit crying out inside me
Everywhere I go I can feel you walking beside me
And a village of spies running around me
Something is really making me uneasy
No one is really bothering...

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The nights dispel wonders and awe 
The days unfold stupendous enigma
Angels are watching over you
As you battle this valiant crusade
A crusade for equality 
A crusade for stability
Enmesh with peace and honesty.
Angels are watching over you...

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Written September 2023


                                ...

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Look at them walking in boots underneath a humongous hot balloon and a big umbrella position in the East sucking up the dreadful heat. They held onto each other just like significant lovers waving to...

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Note: If you haven’t please check out part one before reading this. 
It will make more sense that way Thanks.


Time moves slower than a rusted windmill on a still day 
as I am unable to...

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Time moves slower than a rusted windmill on a still day 
as I am unable to avert my stare, frozen in this spot,  
captivated by an intoxicating charm smoother than Tennessee whiskey 
that hasn’t...

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Under the suffocating veil of dusk, where shadows whisper forgotten tales to the wind,
I wander the labyrinth of thoughts, a traveler in the silent chaos of my mind.
Romania stands immune to all my calls, a...

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The Columbia is a smooth beast that has introduced us to a semi tropic clime
that produces a bewildering humidity even for November
and a panoply of tree types that canopy the mossy turfs
from a sky that...

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Dirk was educated to a very high degree
But there was no career for as far as the eye could see
Finally he took a part time job just as a start 
And now he was Retriever...

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Inspired by The Sirens and Ulysses, oil painting by William Etty.

The painting depicts a scene from Homer's epic "The Odyssey," where the hero Ulysses (aka Odysseus) orders his crew to tie him to the mast...

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They say it all makes sense now. 
All these medical oddities I've experienced at such a young age. 
My doctor insists that things have to make sense. 
He says it's his job, to find the...

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Growing up with ADHD forces you to adapt,
impulsive behaviour controls how you react,
attention span wanders and naturally distracts,
you face an impact, that in fact, doesn't change how you act.

Turns your face red but still you...

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Feel my curling vines surround this unyielding fence
For years they have been tightly gripped against your rust
Above us, a darkened raincloud,
Threatening lightning and stinging sorrows…
Though instead of indifference, I feel the aftermath of your thunder
That...

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In the sacred silence of this moment, 
I kneel before you, my Lord, 
burdened by the weight of my transgressions. 
My soul trembles, confessing
 the sins that have stained the fabric of my being. 
Oh,...

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Prologue 

Of the alchemist’s physique I expound upon thee
A white feathered cap wore he jauntily, cocked to a side.
His sight like a moles’, aided by technology.
Shoulders broad with features fair
Emerald eyes he had with a...

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Catherine, you mean everything to me 
I hope with my actions you can see
My heart only has one key
Life was so much better when I was WE

You might think I am insane
Truth is I did...

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Ego was lost.
Heart was realized;
spirit, unified~ and realized,
  Self.
Fears flooding relentlessly;
bravery and determination to get through.

Realized thoughts were not self, they come & go.
Sat on the throne above thoughts; conscious observer.

Again, incredible bravery...spirit is...

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There’s a party tonight so I bouffe up my hair
Pamper and powder my sweet derrière,
Arrive at the door, all done up to impress.....
Oh man, I forgot! Invite said “fancy dress”!

Pete and Sue are here, seems...

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headland harbored primitive biota abut
mint for exotic sole terrain sustaining 
sole terrain sustaining seeds, spores, spermatozoa, ova 
   seeds, spores, spermatozoa, ova , et cetera gut
preserved within mine follicular pores, sans

I secured per...

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