Long Bridegroom Poems

Sappho fragment #155
translation by Michael R. Burch 

A short revealing frock?
It's just my luck
your lips were made to mock!

*

Sappho fragment #156
translation by Michael R. Burch 

She keeps her scents
in a dressing-case.
And her sense?
In some undiscoverable...

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You Never Listened
by Michael R. Burch
 
You never listened,
though each night the rain
wove its patterns again
and trembled and glistened...
 
You were not watching,
though each night the stars
shone, brightening the tears
in her eyes palely fetching...
 
You...

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The Moon as a Metaphor for Your Mouth
by Michael R. Burch

When I was closest to love, it did not seem
real at all, but a thing of such tenuous sweetness
it might dissolve in my mouth
like a...

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Zulaikha:
What a bird you are, o red-billed Bird, 
you don’t eat reddish mangoes!
By eating which ash, will you exist then
in this bower of fate?

Yusuf:
That there is any fruit better than the name of God
and any...

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Patience
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

If you refuse to speak, I will fill my heart with your silence and endure it.
I will remain still and wait like the night through its starry vigil
with...

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It has been long,

I wish for your voice once more.

I   write this letter to tell that;

Sometimes the sun does shine,

But things will never be the same.

I am still keeping your favorite suit,

Hoping  that  one day...

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There stood a castle on the summit of a hill
Now fallen to decay, hidden among bushes wild
It perched like an eagle’s nest on the steep hill
It was owned by a Lord, gentle and mild

Blessed with...

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The Love Song Of Shu-Sin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Darling of my heart, my belovéd, 
your enticements are sweet, sweeter than honey. 
Darling of my heart, my belovéd, 
your enticements are sweet, sweeter than honey....

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Goodness filling up souls, and pouring back out
            Love, filling cups that quench thirsts of all doubt
       ...

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They had gathered from all around
With special invitation in hand
No professional was allowed
To take part in this grand
...event

Just your every day, run of the mill
Person without culture or fame
Putting their baking skills to work
In hopes...

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                                  ...

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Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah-ah-ah

Doom, accursed echos held in a miasmic gloom
Suffering and hatred, the vendetta against light
For mortals, war of heaven and hell eternal fight  
Mirrors mask, broken oath
Spectral unfathomable sweeping storm of despair
Substitute love,...

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To the bride of Christ I pen this letter.

Aya Jesu
Nwanyi Chineke.

I see you wobbling your feet lazily.
Blissfully content with the comfort of this world.
Forgetting you were sent on an errand.
For this world remains a marketplace....

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I am a captive
   and a prisoner of your affections
    draw me with robes of purple
      wrapped with cords of silver  
  ...

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Sappho Translations VI by Michael R. Burch


Sappho, fragment 52
translation by Michael R. Burch

Yesterday,
you came to my house
to sing for me.

Today,
I come to you
to return the favor.

Talk to me. Do.
Sweet talk,
I love the flavor!

Please send away...

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O The very tender voice of Michael the arch angel
speakth unto me and has told unto me that I am
now surrounded by the tender hearted wings of the
angels! For It is they who have been...

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Sappho Translations IX


Sappho, fragment 17
translation by Michael R. Burch

Hear me, Queen Hera, as your delightful festival nears,
you to whom the sons of Atreus performed vows,
those dazzling kings who did such amazing things,
first at Troy, then...

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MY Vow to God

Gathering in the garden of paradise
all the angels busy making arrangements for 
this great auspicious day
Cards are been made with golden threads
Flower arrangements with the most beautiful colours
Each colour reflecting a message...

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Q "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps
      and went out to meet the bridegroom. Matt.25:1  as, Jesus Christ, our bridegroom...

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Q  Why did the five wise virgins tell the five foolish virgins to go the sellers of the oil?

A   They would have not have enough oil to be able to trim their...

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Either we end up in one location or another. Because there are really only two categories of people. Those of us who have been redeemed and those of us who are forever separated from the...

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When I was in Bible college. Grace Bible™ college I was presented a question. The class was the instructor said this potentious thought. Why are there so many denominations and what is the meaning of...

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Sappho Translations IV by Michael R. Burch

Sappho, fragment 133
translation by Michael R. Burch

Blushing bride, brimful of rose-petaled love,
brightest jewel of the Goddess of Paphos,
come to the bridal bed,
tenderly entice your bridegroom.
May Hesperus lead you starry-eyed
to...

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The sword of truth there is nothing hidden                           ...

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Casting All 'My' Gods Aside!

Let us cast Gods aside if false praise buys salvation,
our actions make Grace less germane (bring us blessing),
and pride (I am ‘saved’) means I judge those who aren’t!
Let us praise God...

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