Long Clambered Poems

Poems about Dogs

This Dog
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Each morning this dog,
who has become quite attached to me,
sits silently at my feet
until, gently caressing his head,
I acknowledge his company.

This simple recognition gives my...

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Every Day You Play
by Pablo Neruda
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Every day you play with Infinity’s rays.
Exquisite visitor, you arrive with the flowers and the water.
You are vastly more than this immaculate head I clasp...

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Sonnets XXV-XXXII

Archaischer Torso Apollos (“Archaic Torso of Apollo”)
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

We cannot know the beheaded god
nor his eyes' forfeited visions. But still
the figure's trunk glows with the strange vitality
of a...

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Sonnets X-XVI


Archaischer Torso Apollos (“Archaic Torso of Apollo”)
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

We cannot know the beheaded god
nor his eyes' forfeited visions. But still
the figure's trunk glows with the strange vitality
of a...

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Come, You
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

This was Rilke’s last poem, written ten days before his death. He died open-eyed in the arms of his doctor on December 29, 1926, in the...

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Simon wizard, you poor under his sway
That all things of God, which then of good will
Must be always brides, and you birds of prey

For gold and silver adulterate still,
Now it's time that the trumpet sounds...

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It was Christmas Eve and I was at the airport,
Not a soul in sight, almost deserted, it was 10.00 pm,
Only two hours before Christmas day,
Perhaps if I got on a plane, I would see Santa...

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Continued from FREEZER MICE

The cat had travelled straight from hell, a hell beyond the stars
The cat that theories claim once levied genocide on Mars
She now seeks vengeance on descendants of the primal shrew
Whoever knew that...

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Soon, the sun was lying low, a bright full moon was now on show
Santa switched on Walnut’s glow… “Ho Ho Ho and away we go.”
Walnut played along and led the team of reindeer and their...

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I awoke to the familiar sound of dishes rattling in Mother’s kitchen and to the thick scent of coffee wafting through the air. I glanced out my bedroom window; the neighborhood was lit by the...

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Archaischer Torso Apollos ("Archaic Torso of Apollo")
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch 

We cannot know the beheaded god
nor his eyes' forfeited visions. But still
the figure's trunk glows with the strange vitality
of a...

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*There are only two damsels in this tale; all variations were simply for ease of writing.

Once Kate and Isabella went
To see the pretty fields of Gwent
And traipse through forest shade
They packed a picnic lunch for...

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Rum and Raisin, on the mat, were playing with their toys
Their humans had the tv on to give some background noise
Rum said, “Raisin, there is something that I want to do,
To meet a man from...

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III.
There must be a hundred, silent and cruel,
a slow-moving wave as the night grew cool,
Rose had a shotgun, to blast out her hate,
yet Sol remained steady, motioned her to wait.

He didn’t shoot, he had planned...

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Come, You
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Come, you--the last one I acknowledge; return--
incurable pain searing this physical mesh.
As I burned in the spirit once, so now I burn
with you; meanwhile, you consume...

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Smoke signals rise from Sitting Duck cavern
In town the Pitt gang are trashing the tavern
John Wayne strolled in and he ain’t here to dance
They say that he walked like he just sh*t his pants

Don’t be...

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Continued from The Eye of the Sea part 1


The first mate, dour and sparse of words
Claimed few things were his pleasure
And too much beer had brought him here,
That and the rumoured treasure.

The cook was thin,...

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After hearing from Brick over the phone saying he needed a lift, Bill cradled the phone, adjusted his shoulder holster, slipped on his jacket and carefully donned his beloved Stetson. He skipped down the stairs...

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Devin crunched slowly through the frosted grass
as he made his way down his grandpa’s field,
it was the morning after Thanksgiving
with a chill that was bracing and real.

While most of the state was crowding the stores,
causing...

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one day as a boy, I went down to the sea
clambered o'er rocks way out to the bluff
stopping to search in a tide pool for shells
senses awakened by strong, briny smells
warming, the zephyr was gentle...

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Conflict
 
The priest ran
Scared to raise 
An ignorant army

On a darkling plain
Loading guns
With dummy

Faith. The froth
Rose arrogantly
In the test

Tube.  They heard
Eyes shut and saw
Ears plugged,

Contorted faces
Expecting the explosion
Any moment.

Slowly
Very slowly the froth
Spilled over

Leaving behind—would
The...

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I had been placed in chains 
Where the cripples shed their canes 
And the blind regained the art of seeing.
It was a robbers’ den 
And as all God fearing men, 
I had assets needed freeing.

Sometimes...

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A hunter boy born to God fearing parents
Was taught from his very early childhood;
Failure to attend church on Sundays needed penitence
As it was an act of defying God and dishonoring His parenthood
The boy faithfully took...

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Wombles In Space
(Split Into two parts because I suddenly got all Limericky )

Part One

The Wombles are not worldly wise
They look to the ground not the skies
They got on a train, which is hard to explain
Cos...

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Twilight beguiled the light, devoured the day
clambered high he,down from abaddon
to behold his beloved, to avow his love
to fasten his heart in her bosom's warmth

moonlit night it was,
when first time he saw,
she gazed back ,a...

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