Long Distant past Poems

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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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 lamp lit from within,...

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The Panther
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

His weary vision's so overwhelmed by iron bars,
his exhausted eyes see only blank Oblivion.
His world is not our world. It has no stars.
No light. Ten thousand...

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'Continental Drift' - The Metaphor

In the seventies (1), few people dreamed ‘it’ was true,
guessed by scientists first when rough coastlines compared (2)
matched like parts of a puzzle (a jigsaw), found place
that joined ‘drop-offs’ waves hid...

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This is my translation of the first of Rilke’s Duino Elegies. Rilke began the first Duino Elegy in 1912, as a guest of Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis, at Duino Castle, near Trieste on...

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“Women Have Loved Before As I Love Now”
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Women have loved before as I love now;
At least, in lively chronicles of the past-
Of Irish waters by a Cornish prow
Or Trojan waters by...

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This piece demonstrates how lasting the bond can be that often develops between young children and their schoolteachers.

                 ...

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I'm writing on the first page.
I love the concord and quiet at my age.
The morning came from a genius mage.
In my spirit, I am searching for the truth stage.
To understand things to resist this upsurge.
It...

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Unquotable quotes: The Janitor, Gardienne, Landlady, Housekeeper, Portero, Sereno and the Hausgast –XXXii Part Two

The duties of the Housekeeper in the U.K. par rapport au Portero in Spain or the Gardienne in France is that...

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Alone, surrounded by seventeen million humans who call New York home
In a rut, depressed, searching in pain and in vain for hope

A crisp fall day, I venture north to play
The Adirondack valley, mountains borne from...

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recognition of our true constitution reveals
we are not merely limited mind-body combine
our soul being encased in five sheaths or coverings
of which the first and grossest is the material organism
the second our pranic energy field, which...

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I lay awake in that dark hour and was reflecting on my life
From all the travelling I had done to the breakup with my wife
I was an architectural painter and was very successful too
And after...

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There was a time 
In the not distant past
When farmers would sell their wares
Of fruits and vegetables they had planted
To feed the town folks, and balance a budget
In exchange, for clothes, sundries and junket
For the...

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I was a busy archaeologist, who enjoyed interesting and fulfilling work,
And I was very intrigued, with the ancient sites where mystery lurked. 

My painstaking work caused me to travel, ofttimes to far distant lands,
As golden...

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"Love...ultimate truth in life,    
                  came tiptoeing, whispering...murmuring...tinkling" - by Poet    

...

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I was a busy and active person, who loved to savor life.
I was also amiable and friendly, avoiding excess strife.

Like the glad golden sun, ever beaming blissful radiance,
Indeed drawing all others, with its cheerful brilliance.

My...

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Wonderment at existence – mine

a sixty four year old married bloke
born January 13th, mcmlix
under Capricorn sign in general,
and January 13th in particular
who dons online personage
with custom (think 
swiftly tailored harried styled) 
made poetic raiment cloak.

With...

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It was a short walk I intended to take
To while away time that I did not have
For I had lots on my mind and hands 
So off I went anyway and I was glad of...

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Wonderment at existence - mine
born January 13th, mcmlix
under Capricorn sign.

With my scrunched  
and bushy furrowed brow
I often ponder precise circumstances 
that linkedin yours truly to be born
tracing back lineage of self 
or arbitrary individual...

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Mirror of Memories "Alzheimer's" Contest
Sponsor: TAMMY REAMS

I woke up scared...can't remember the time I woke up..
Scattered pictures of lost loves in my distant past.
There she is again, she said she is my daughter, 
But I...

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Dear Future Self,

Hello! How are you?
What is life like for you now?
Did you accomplish what you wanted to?
Was I right to conclude, at now 28,
That the experiences you went through
Have brought you to a special...

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With scrunched and bushy furrowed brow
   I often ponder the precise circumstances
   that any thing 2 be born this way
   as a poker face
Tracing back lineage of self or
...

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As a historian I was focused, on the long record of writing,
Considered an expert in the field, I found it most exciting.

For countless delights have arisen, out of the written word;
And we only knew crude...

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Love Manifesto

Remembering to breathe 
Into to our heart 
Is the best way to give and receive.
We need to start
Practice and believe 
That we can live and work together,
Instead of staying suspicious and apart.
We cannot allow...

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1. MORNING HAS BROKEN 
The men, in lines, tramp two by two,
forgetting all the women who
indulged them through a night of tricks
(their lips designed with crimson sticks,
their eyes a wild mascara mix)

and think instead on...

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