Long Besieged Poems

Poems of Recanted Bachelorhood

bachelorhoodwinked
by Michael R. Burch

u
are
charming
& disarming,
but mostly ALARMING
since my resolve
dissolved!

*

Disconcerted
by Michael R. Burch

Beth, my sweet,
fresh as a daisy,
when I’m with you
my heart beats like crazy
& my future gets hazy ...

*

What Goes Around, Comes
by...

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Beckoning
by Michael R. Burch 
 
Yesterday the wind whispered my name
while the blazing locks
of her rampant mane
lay heavy on mine.
And yesterday
I saw the way
the wind caressed tall pines
in forests laced by glinting streams
and thick with...

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To a Daughter More Precious than Gems
by Otomo no Sakanoue no Iratsume
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Heaven's cold dew has fallen—
and thus another season arrives.
Oh, my child living so far away,
do you pine for me...

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Turkish Poetry Translations II

Çanakkale Sehitlerine
"For the Çanakkale Martyrs"
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Was there ever anything like the Bosphorus war??
The earth’s mightiest armies pressing Marmara,
Forcing entry between her mountain passes
To a...

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Poems about Things that Break I
 
These are poems about things that break and/or shatter: a bubble, glass, a mirror, a twig or tree limb, a thunderstorm, cities and towers in times of war, old...

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Poems about Things that Break III
 
These are poems about things that break and/or shatter: a bubble, glass, a mirror, a twig or tree limb, a thunderstorm, cities and towers in times of war, old...

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Because the charity of my native place
Obliged me, the broken branches I the picked up
Them giving back him, who was to debase.

Then we finally reached where had to leap
From the second turn to third, and...

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SEX ON A CLOUD

                               ...

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FIRST GLANCE EMBRACE

  (HER STORY)

                             ...

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PASSION OF CONVENTION

                                ...

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Of Ghosts and fiends in Twilight, Cont.


A thought flashed in my mind from the old tales told
The lore of the beast and I had felt his foul breath
I had seconds to act or be devoured...

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Tim’s father had been a refugee once he put down his fight and his gun

The story is that he embarked on the very last ship leaving East Prussia

Under siege tanks and bombs from above fireworks...

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Fall Of Berlin

There on the wall hangs a mixture of paint on linen,
Leaving the impression of a city besieged, encased in ice;
Purposely frozen in horror to remind the living,
Of blood oozing from the rubble into...

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Mehmet Akif Ersoy: Modern English Translations of Turkish Poems

Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873-1936) was a Turkish poet, author, writer, academic, member of parliament, and the composer of the Turkish National Anthem.



Snapshot
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation...

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Overarching Genocide

Noah built the wooden Ark in his homeland instructed by God
to save his wife three sons and their wives from drowning a life 
raft rescue boat of sorts with three decks and only one...

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I once invested a year
as Board President.
Indeed, I was often a bored resident
of our State Affordable Housing Coalition.

My platform,
to speak grandly
of what was more of a healthy whim,
was for safe and beautiful affordable housing

Habitat is...

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(1.)
Beware, Nightmarish Dreams Are Oft By Raven Sent,
(In Tribute To Edgar Allen Poe)

When incantations stoke fiery embers,
eerie nights, their sounds roust to remember
ghosts of yesteryears, so birthed to dark play
within nightmarish dreams, as monsters slay.

Around...

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You were an Afghan, Farid Khan by name,
A name less known to the world today.
You ran away from home,
Because your own step-mother plotted against you.
Now you were runaway-Khan!

You chose to be a knight-errant,
Soon became a...

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Who suggests a trip back...rides to this bit of nostalgia in the middle years of the Great Depression aboard a Chicago elevated train, "the El." We hurdle head-long above asphalt blanketed streets that are determined...

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Recurrent sneezing fit courtesy freshly mowed grass

circa June 20th, 2022
prompted me to stutter 
self addressed rapid fire gesundheit
nsync with, spluttering
“I don't have any allergies!”

An infinitesimal slight speck tickled 
nostril follicle – activated via an itty...

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They crept upon our shores eating away the inner core
They crept upon our shore knocking on our barricade doors
Tall stout men with peevish eyes and strange looks on their white faces
Invade our quarters looking for...

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Poetic nugget discovered today March 29th, 2021...
while rifling thru outdated electronic drafts,
whereby yours went back to our memorable past.

Circa 6/30/ 2017 - Lost missing master car key...
plus additional ordinary travails affecting me
such as near bankruptcy,...

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Humanity is destined to dissolve
when fear consumes the minds of timid kings.
Such pandering lets lunacy evolve
and impotence is forced to face its sting.
An evil wind, with blustering conceit,
embarks to stage aggressions at your gate,
‘tis but...

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I heard something on the wireless
As i went about my day,
Some new strain of virus
In some province far away.

I didn’t pay much attention
As it seemed a distant threat.
Well that was my contention
So I didn’t break...

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"The righteous shall live by faith"
Romans 1:17

Posted on Poetry Soup 12 January 2023
Contest no 1265 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand

               ...

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