Long Coalescence 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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Dot dot dot, and in other news devil's advocate claims Teflon Trump

courtesy the comfort of his mancave, 
I (a mutated batman wannabe) 
doth prattle and stump
and display wide whirled webbed 
and variegated tail feathers 
(also...

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Devil's advocate claims Teflon Trump...

The demagogue reincarnate 
feels gifted to reign supreme
captivates, glorifies, lauds, 
renounces, yawps extreme
views bellows dogmatic fulminations
in an attempt to redeem
stolen 2020 capital one bid.

Which hunter (biden his time) 
will reap grim...

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"Aliens!" I shouted above the roar of the blaze.

Please rescue us from this godforsaken place
veritable hellscape, where angels fear ingress.

Just then an unexpected pleasant distraction
woke me from induced stupor linkedin to Los
Angeles fires jump/kick starting...

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I crowned the write full missus "champ paean practical joker"

The following moniker “innocent prankster” 
awarded, hashtagged, and qualified wife
as trickster de jure appended 
to alluded spouse 
(then of twenty five plus years),
when she pulled a...

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Dump Trump - The demagogue Hitler reincarnate!

Countdown to Armageddon 
precariously, lugubriously, hellaciously, 
and deleteriously hinges
potential apocalypse now outcome, 
mere smattering weeks away
if the brazen, fierce-some 
amazing dragon doth don
trumps presidential throne -
ships with whistling ...

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to parlay view to unleash nuclear weapons on cue
destroying vast swaths of flora and fauna,
   most inn no cent life forms pay hefty due
to assuage aggressively cruel, enjoyably 

   growling goal,...

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Countdown to Armageddon precariously hinges 
   potential apocalypse outcome, mere smattering days away
if the brazen, fierce-some dragon doth don 
   trumps presidential throne - 
   ships with whistling ...

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Call me a pacifist activist deploring insanity of war,
never a Fitbit moon-unit soldier of military industrial
complex, this articulate baby boomer verily stupefied,
openmouthed, dumbfounded at inane ill logic to send
best and brightest, or even those boasting...

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Embarkation upon meditation...

Believe me you upon manifestation
regarding Das godaddy bing linkedin
with avast cosmic consciousness
self induced light hypnotic trance
I become enthralled

unless wife disrupts intent concentration
calling out "Matt...Matt...Matt"
bajillion times Googleplex
(slight hyperbole for literary effect),
subsequently courtesy

disembodied voices
deliver poetic...

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I hate robocalls!

Inxs of recorded messages   
transmitted automatically 
to my telephone number 
by automatic dialing device.

I turn off damn ringer,
and disassemble (carefully 
as disabling a time bomb) 
internal workings nevertheless...
telephone still buzzes
twenty four...

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Line of inquiry:
“since thoughts speak in past tenses,
drop mind, rely on senses,
embracing and releasing,
pain pangs and pleasure pleasing”


My thoughts are swimming against the current, 
seeking, ever searching for threads into the past
that will seamlessly stitch...

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I crown the missus "champ impractical joker"

Unbeknownst the wife appeared unusually upbeat,
she did pretend and succeed
to give yours truly a special treat
aforementioned item alluded to purchased
at Liberty Ministry thrift store

3841 Ridge Pike
(some miles further east
same...

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Strikes relentlessly thrashing
     (from all points
     encompassing me) assigned
unforgivingly, vehemently,
     witheringly, blind
ding figurative sight, then
    I finally craft a title,
then...

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Red hot chili pepper poker face...

Born that way angry antithetical 
mailer daemon when...
all of Christendom bows their collective 
talking heads in supplication,
a temporary truce and reprieve 
against bigotry, deviltry, idolatry (nah),  
et cetera across...

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I hate robocalls!

I turn off damn ringer,
nonetheless...
telephone still buzzes
twenty four seven
eight days a week
automated telephone calls

digitally recorded message
perfectly spoken English
differentiation to distinguish
"FAKE" simulation
all bot impossible
totally immune to escape

gagging hospitable invective
electronic jawboning immunized
against antipathy, cruelty, enemy,
hostility,...

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I turn off damn ringer,
nonetheless...
telephone still buzzes
twenty four seven
eight days a week
automated telephone calls

digitally recorded message
perfectly spoken English
differentiation to distinguish
"FAKE" simulation
all bot impossible
totally immune to escape

gagging hospitable invective
electronic jawboning immunized
against antipathy, cruelty, enemy,
hostility, insecurity, pleasantry
Yukon...

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Dance for me now ...

Eyes of polished onyx pierce me like the keen edge
          of a scalpel, deftly wielded ...

The blood of my black heart flowing...

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Though joyousness impaled,
albeit skewered over poker hot coals
courtesy roaring fiery
molten psychological magma
kindling sparks incinerate
nonetheless inchoate coalescence

asserts, damned feeble endeavor
fostering, glomming, harking
futile hellbent fixation manifests
imperceptible yearning inclination
atavistic aspiration toward archangel
fleetingly overrides pathos

prevalent within pathetic psyche
regarding mental...

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it starts out full of determination, 
crusading with vision and vigor
a strong staff, new boots, and a good hat.
a map with direction and no mud stains

walking with purpose in mid-afternoon
the clouds in the distance poignantly
seem...

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aswirl within tremendous maelstroms
universal united uninhabitable cauldron
tempered with analogous:
outrageous, portentous
thunderous cacophony in tandem

with thick mucilaginous fog
metaphorically postpartum
nebulous placenta afterbirth
and/or proto planets aborted

per primordial material
slowly (millions of years) coalescence
annealed bubbling primeval soup
engendering (extant

via immeasurably immense stretches...

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now ...

dance for me …
eyes of polished onyx pierce
me like the keen edge of a scalpel,
deftly wielded ...
the blood of my black
heart flowing in and around you,
warm and welcomed to your
wings and wants ...
the aspiration...

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now ...

dance for me …
eyes of polished onyx
pierce me like the keen edge of
a scalpel, deftly wielded ...
the blood of my black
heart flowing in and around you -
warm and welcomed to your
wings and wants -
the...

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The first movie they watched with each other was Across The Universe

Ten finger tips reaching out sweaty palms and pounding heartbeats


		     Synchronous

			     Wholesome

				    ...

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