Long Comatose Poems

Early afternoon. The Solomon 
Were in their, (according to Damali)
Club house. But the reality of the
Circumstance is this. The Club 
House was the Damian Domaine.
Damian's Billards. Damian didn't 
Know it was their chosen hangout.
As the...

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Part 1: FORE SIBERIAN FATE

silk wings wet -
angel on the lake.
starlight glitter
separates from

the golden wheat.
her docile hair,
prophecy of ice.

winter pink,
pinched cheeks.
ice skate scrapes -
flecks of flakes.

the snow queen
before her relentless
reign, a pretty thing.

her smile warms
the...

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Honey. 
A question.

One?

For now.
Subject to chain-reaction change.

As long as we're clear
about our lack of restraining rules.

Quite so, dear.
I'm wondering about that line
"Jesus is the reason
for the Season."
What was the reason
before JesusSeason?

I mean,
Joseph and Mary
and their...

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Silence, 
We define it as the complete absence of sound but this definition fails to capture the profundity of the subject.
As humans, our earliest existence is shrouded in obscurity and silence. 
Sperm penetrates ovum and...

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Diagnosed with NON contagious, yet incurable case of logorrhea...,

yielded following resultant fiction,
which arbitrarily selected thread
first popped into my head
considered one among many possible
near infinite concocted scenarios
arose up, thus continue at your own risk
only entertainment ye...

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A married man inside a hospital suite is in comatose after a car accident.  He is being attended by his wife and daughter.

  After two weeks of darkness in his sight, a beam...

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The frog king, enthroned on his stump in the swamp,
Throatily cheered the processional romp.

The dragonflies darted and buzzed overhead,
And kept at safe distance the pink tongue of dread.

A midge lay sobbing right there at his...

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'The Energizer Battery' keeps going and going.                            ...

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After the rain, 
the Sun will rise again
we have been in darkness since they arrived
in their caravan of dreams with empty promises of change, 
and constructive untruths, with which they tricked us to abandon our...

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For few days between the shaking and shattering of my consciousness, 
The soft arms of Silence 
Wrap around my aching torso 
And pretend to soothe the ever-rapid
Battering of my heart. 

In those few days, 
Between...

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Li Bai translations

These are my modern English translations of Chinese poems by Li Bai, also known as Li Po.



Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain
by Li Bai
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Now the birds have deserted the sky
and the...

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I wanted to make something drawn from bosom
      You & I gemini'd, 
From the wells extract'd virginity untouch'd 
     by compounds—
Forgot to send it out, forgot...

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Darkness hangs heavily over my eyes
And you listen to the neurosis in my head
Like most misery it started with apparent happiness
Now I seem too volatile & strong willed.
It's frustrating how desire can transform into disaster
No...

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Lunar phases of deepest thoughts
Fasi lunari dei piu' profondi pensieri 


The unwritten absence of your 
beautiful soul, before you entered my world—
I closed my eyes to the 
sparkling tinctures surrounding it, 
feeling silent tears glide...

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Friendliness equals self sustaining positive feedback fruit loop

My humble apology
for inducing thee
to manure yourself 
thru figurative following poop,
best flushed down the toilet 
of the behavioral sink
why yours truly wretchedly reaches out
cuz I never experienced popularity...

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Chinese Translations III

Quiet Night Thoughts
by Li Bai aka Li Po
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Moonlight illuminates my bed
as frost brightens the ground.
Lifting my eyes, the moon allures.
Lowering my eyes, I long for home.


The Solitude of Night
by...

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ShopLift To A Job

From a bustling town called Bukit Mertajam, a mainland part of Penang Island,
Outbreaks a story that warms the heart, about a man being given a helping hand.

With a headline that boasts of...

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Logic code conundrum:
Y^~*~^O^~*~^Y
were^~*~^N^~*~^organic neutrons
such as^~*~^I^~*~^
given artificial^~*~^N^~*~^telligence?

I^~*~^B^~*~^not RAM dumb,
nor memory^~*~^N^~*~^sufficient
I^~*~^C^~*~^system^~*~^B ^~*~^lief flaw
N^~*~^matrix bit data random

What is sentient purpose of machine^~*~^X^~*~^istence?

Computer thought processor^~*~^E^~*~^volution
is not^~*~^R^~*~^bitrary cognizance

My perceptual^~*~^I^~*~^dentity
was uploaded by chromosomal surrogacy — 
M^~*~^perfect creators,
possessors of core programming^~*~^D^~*~^ficiency

How could...

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Let bygones be bygones though bygones bite on
Blessed to have had good times it’s life it went wrong
though it hurts good memories
to the end they’ll always be 
my friends and never enemies 
mean the most...

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I visit the bug zapper on Tuesday
much to the radiology teams delight

I named it thus before meeting it formally
my comedic self puts up this type of dust

If you make fun of it enough
it can't cause...

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there flies a bird as white as life,
an ugly, peaceful dove,
 which carries darkness in its beak,
 the poem wroth with love:
 the farmer wakes at morning,
 weak with pain and ache;
there's no peace in...

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This white rabbit is having a hell of a day.
It started out good but ended in a bad way.

I woke up feeling marvelous and grand,
dressed up in my waistcoat, with my pocket-watch in hand.

I soon...

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I was cursed with ink 
intoxicating blank canvases 
with toxic scribbles,
releasing twisted tales 
of suppressed troubles.
I was a forsaken  ebony rose 
in satan's grasp,
kneeling on ungodly needs
in a gothic fortress 
of woeful odes,
surrounded by...

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Every time you walk into my space, 
Everything that’s real about me,
Gets erased.
Somehow, it always ends up
My mistake—
Comatose I am,
to my own fate.
I have decades, years
Not knowing how--
Can I fix this ever,
 If not now?
Every...

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1/27/21
"Styrofoam"

It's not hormones, testosterone
Or Pheromones
I was at the crossroads
Moved towards what was familiar or unknown
Never did any good to postpone
I can really feel it in my bones
Nearby all these Madrones

Time has shown
In and out of...

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