Long Defiantly 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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Judging v Mediating,
like Teaching v Mentoring,
like Win/Lose Retributive Motives v Win/Win Restorative Motivators
like dogmatic Preaching v compassionately Communicating,

As felt
and appreciated by my LeftBrain dominant
RightWing hand
nurturing StraightWhite patriarchal 
overpoweringly privileged
systemically elitist judgment

Branching, colonizing, 
extending up and...

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THE CHIMNEY
The once fine air, refreshens with dust
Between the village horizon and crest
Since the sailing of a death chemical chimney.

Young green plants seedlings growing on slope
Are left to sip these  carcinogenic dusts, sapling
And entwined...

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Limricks prompted by a comment made by someone today

It's a fact, and no longer just a rumor
Some soup people barf at toilet humor
Have you sniffed your own butt 
It stinks so keep it shut
Pessimism must...

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What I wanted to say
the other day
when exalting healthy kindness
for potentially freeing us
from Straight White Men's great meanness

Costing Earth's Green Commons
and charging disinterest against
co-investing in healthy wealth
of all we cooperatively cherish
as good-wellness humored
for me
and win/win...

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For the third time Pandora stands before the box
Inlaid with jewels ivory and gold
In her hand is the key – she closely examines
Intrigued by its intricate patterns - so ancient- so old

Her Creator’s mandate she...

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Argh daylight savings time ends – 2:00 AM November 6th 2022

Hour hands of o'clock get set back 
sixty minutes gaining extra hour of Autumn
round about this same day of November 
every year, what a bum
er,...

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Daylight Savings Time Ends – November 5th 2023 means...

discombobulated, harried, and lobotomized
state of body, mind, and spirit triage.

Onset of dark shadows signalling edge of night
occurs earlier as the world turns  
beckoning, hinting, robbing passage...

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Argh Daylight Savings Time – March 13th, 2022

Once again, yours truly
dishes out his regular dose
of literary gobbledygook
even Count Dracula
would not even bat an eye
nor give me his evil curse,
butta I avoid tempting him 
courtesy fanged...

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I rediscover organic errors
hidden in co-gravitating
love language.

Gravity is easily noticed
as Apple falling toward Earth;
less visibly co-scienced,
experientially remembered,
as co-gravitational
co-relational intent

As Apple's ego-gravity core
falls drawn toward sacred Earth's
Mothering womb
smothering tomb
once more
returning toward deeply divine
anthrosupremely verbal
overpowering EarthTribe's co-operating...

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I had a long argument today...
Whilst sitting by the 
surcharging charging airport port,
shouldertoshoulder with this pastor.

Delayed flight and low juice
kept us there, squared off;
shoulder to shoulder.

He with his Righteousness,
me with my Right View.
He with all...

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Punishing for revenge,
could this occur to natural systems
without capacity to imagine alternative futures?

Punishing others for their defiant behavior,
actions and words stronger than merely ignorant
bolder than merely angry with each other, and ourselves,
but how much more
to...

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Argh Daylight Savings Time – March 14th, 2021

Once again, yours truly
dishes out his regular dose
of literary gobbledygook
even Count Dracula
would not even bat an eye
nor give me his evil,
(albeit harmless) look
regarding feeble effort I undertook.

Don't forget...

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I wonder if fully liberated consciousness
can only focus on integrity
becoming;

If partial consciousness
and unconsciousness of left with right awareness
is the default of dis-integrity,
of wandering through detachment
of unwanted apartheid
and mutual apathy
about integrity's personal
national
global governing pride,
organic capacity to...

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The oldest citizen of Soup Creek, Nopaul E. Ticks, posed to show his support for the town council's ban on politicians.

I hear that nasty Trump feller, wants to stump in Soup Creek.
He wrote to Mayor...

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I am anxious
as my 5:30 beeping alarm
grows defiantly louder,
reminding me of surreal difference
between asleep, longing for better days awake,
and,
now awake,
longing for more sleep
struggling toward alarming predawn buttons
to release from this first crisis
for depressing life's day-rousing...

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Daylight Savings Time – March 13th,   2022

A long time graduate courtesy 
Hard Knocks alum,
once again yours truly 
posts reasonable rhyme 
about shortest day of the year.

Two o'clock Ante Meridiem 
nostri Jesu Christi 
hour...

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GODS WAITING ROOM

Mr Black, please get down from that chair,
You’ll break your legs,
Mr Black replied, it would be worthwhile love
Just to see your sexy pegs,
As you pass by my room and go up
The stairs,
We all...

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This Year’s Champion

It’s the last of the snow
Spring finally arrived
Time to get ready for battle
Time to get my little hands 
On my bag of marbles
Way up there since winter
Abandoned on my bookshelf
A droopy, limp blue...

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When dancing Earth's tribal rhythms
natural seasons
light and heavy step
steeped nurturing intent
anxiously dark
anticipating bright
natural exotic music
dancing muse content

While singing deep spiritual
reasons
for light and night,
glad and sad feelings
above well-capitalized necks

And darker powerful feelings
down below
sacred 1/0 soul
of private...

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Long ago, before she was ever hunted by the beast,
She had only drank from the cool river of freedom.
One fateful day it happened; she was caught
unaware. Her body, suddenly foreign, to move was a struggle.
The...

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IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE PRIME OF MY PARENY’S LIFE WAS ALMOST 
                     ...

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Five miles of neatly spaced suckered palm planted 
Bustling promenade,
Not withstanding a provincial cafe-culture 
Of restaurants and exciting little bars,
Enhance upon regal elegance of the crammed hotels
Regency period style facades;
Their fashionable shadows slowly lifting and...

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diametrically opposing forces miscarriage 
   and abort, cancel and retry to upend Vanity Fair 
   where trump defiantly makes an en rode
gauging Bernie sanders troopers as “enemy” phalanx 
  ...

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