Long Burn down Poems

Fadwa Tuqan has been called the Grand Dame of Palestinian letters and The Poet of Palestine. These are my translations of Fadwa Tuqan poems originally written in Arabic.



Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by...

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English translations of Arabic poems by Fadwa Tuqan aka "The Poet of Palestine"

Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Enough for me to lie in the earth,
to be buried in her,
to sink...

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I opined to my father -


“Hey, Dad,” I quipped, bewilderedly, “last night, believe it or not, Grandpa Jake was watchin’ a film from prob’ly 1930...
When I glanced up from Facebook to determine why he’d growled,...

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Youth

When orchids bloom in beauty life's aglow
to hold emotions locked in deep repose
in young desire and love warm thoughts will show.
Affection holds its ardor as it grows
to burn inside young hearts in evening tide.
In darkest...

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From my lowly bachelor’s house
Proudly christened ‘Embassy Fair’
I woke up to the chirping of birds
On the trees above and across the vale
And the riverine bushes in-between
I woke up to the crowing of cocks
And the mooing...

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“Might you have an opening for an auction fairly soon?   If I move, I'm gonna have a ton of stuff to sell.”
“I'm trying to find a building at the moment,” he replied, “a...

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1.
Once upon a very long time in the eleventh century B.C.
There was a king in, Athens, who ruled both land and sea

2.
To all was known as king Codrus*, a mighty warrior was he 
His enemies...

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Let the air fill your vocal sounds
Be enlightened by a gospel, energized choir
You are the main event
Brazening with glamorous features 
How lucky could you be? 

I seek not to hunt you down...heartless of your beauty 
Your hoarse growling...

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If I was God
I would be angry with the Government
you fight and you bicker
and you get nothing done

Look at England 
trying to get out of a contract
you want your leaders to be effective
they create plans

but...

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We are of no club 
In the race of destiny
There may be team work 
To avoid setback filming to drub
Trials and luck making lot of agony
Despite the unrelenting years of paperwork

To me school is cool
Inspiring...

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One of the greatest causes of evil,
one of the greatest drivers of our sin,
emerges from an unexpected source,
from the idea of being a ‘victim.’

It doesn’t make sense to most folks at first,
are not victims worthy...

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The Seattle City council is under the influence of radicals.  Seeking to defund their city's police department by 50%.  Fifty years ago, Communist China did the exact same thing. Now communist China is...

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I felt my name slip off his tongue 
Before he even thought to consider 
Whether to pronounce it 
Ashanti Asante or Asanti 

Oh Queen Nanny, let them be 
Pitch black warriors 
made night their playground...

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Legend Of The Black Dove  
                            ...

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Who Can Love Me

Living a past that lacked love and attention
 I became a bleeding soul 
dependent alone in my darkness, 
feeling the nightly silence 
when sadness surrounds the air I breath, 
my mornings were...

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Unquotable quotes: Outsiders and Odd Men – XXVIII

                 for Colin Wilson (1931-1913) 
      ...

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Stop! The violent protests and leave peaceful protesters out to make a difference strictly along.  Whether you are in law enforcement or the national guard. You need to pray for peaceful solutions!  But...

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O’ in the laden light
Sparks the fire,
Its attic
Cathedral of fire shall not burn down
A blazed, all consuming fire;
Chard concrete, statues, bricks ignite;
Heavens, angels tear cry out, not here;
"The Cathedral serves as a spiritual home”
 For...

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~I don't need, In case you haven't heard~

I don't need to strip for no crown, unless you desire large breast
Casarah, there's no need to be deluded by money hungry psychics, 
Reading leaves from a tea...

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The drum is sounding
From Queens in New York
Stretching to the horns of America
And the horns of Africa
Hear them applause
They call it the Trump drum of triumph
I sat on my chair of reeds
And looked towards north...

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Grenade (The McDonald's Version)

-Please note some things/words may not make sense to somebody who has not worked at McDonald's :)
 


Dump dump dump and salt, that is all I do

Fill the fry hopper and make...

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You can never be free of old love
it'll always be caged in your heart and head
At any time the ghost of old love can hijack your brain
turn it into a forest of monkeys 
shaking the...

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You should feel ashamed.
What are you an idiot?
The woman is standing there with a baby crying in her arms.
The train is starting and stopping, rapid, erratic, uncaring.
Get the hell up and give this woman your...

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1st commandment "have no other god except me"
Should there be, He is impartial referee 

2nd commandment "do not make idols"
It simply makes the two seem equal

3rd commandment "take His name not in vain"
If thou shall...

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The tangled vines of green tree limbs swing back and forth
as the tallest trees compete to out-shadow one another,
and yellow tigers crouch behind bushes wait for their prey to come along
and bite down on soft...

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