Long Excavations Poems

The Love Song Of Shu-Sin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Darling of my heart, my belovéd, 
your enticements are sweet, sweeter than honey. 
Darling of my heart, my belovéd, 
your enticements are sweet, sweeter than honey....

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I went cruising to Norway with my wife across the North Sea
We travelled the route the Vikings took but with added luxury
Our first port of call was Stavanger, it was nice to be on dry...

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In the temple of my soul burn words misunderstood,
The secret bell of my hope tolling dimly in the echoless temple,
How I wished to sift the hidden meanings,
And to lay upon your altar achievements that weave...

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OBVIOUSLY 
Obviously, the people who lived contemporary with dinosaurs were intelligent, 
and the footprints indicate that they were quite human as the large toe on 
primates is located closer to the heel to facilitate clinging...

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Excavations expose stunning skulls of history,
Where-around emblazoned scripts cultures and creatures;
Minds of human beings and their mass mystery,
The whole lot that surrounds them with all true features...

Be it Rosetta stone or Ashurbanipal's,
Troy or king Tut's...

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Surfeit of stalagmites barring, hampering my way
Clouds descending from heavenly heights
Obscuring my outlook in the rarified air
Mount Certes challenged all my senses
Aching muscles, pounding heart, gasping intakes of breath
But for all that I felt elated,...

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I tried to fly
God knows I tried
To bring the cherry back
For children in the nest.
I told old Daedalus
It was the weight of sorrow
That kept me 
In the labyrinth dark
Shivering before the minotaur
I had no weight...

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When sun's last ray falls
A golden leaf on the tongue of the sea
Go not far from hearth and walls
Go not into the dusk O prodigy
And if you dare yield to lure
Of day shut up in...

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I stared, and stared, and stared
Following the light with my eyes
To see beneath the dress
The deep bosom of water suckling
Babels on the ancient salt of primal seas.
We build our ladders not from mountains
But their stones
Children...

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Dawn unfurls
Heat in new light;
Earth awakes

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Poignant sanctuary
Whisper of healing;
Wisdom abides

~~~~~~~~~


Laughter thrills
Zesty humour loiters;
A brand new page

~~~~~~~~~


Buoyant fragrance
Floral metaphors;
Bougainvilleas

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Frangipanni interlude
Red and yellow flowers;
Morning salutation

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Windy highway
Picturesque rainbow arch;
Sunny drizzle dance

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Man to woman
Waltz to love;
Fragrant possibilities

~~~~~~~~~


New Year's Eve
Party...

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Feel the year-end mood
Rainy punctuation,
Wetness all around


Touch of strange passion
Words stretch away,
New permutations


Here the watcher
Stretches out waiting,
Touch of wonder


Feel the pulse
Of mental images,
Poise of new voices


I wait to know
Some surge of feelings,
Blend of new rhymes


When...

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AND PASSING INTO HOLY SOULSFROM AGE TO AGE
SHE PRODUCES FRIENDS OF GOD 
 PROPHETS
WISDOM 7:27

IF YOU GO TO MILAN in northern Italy
You probably head first to the Duomo
The massive Gothic Cathedral in the center
After you...

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Street alley stalls
Tourist bazaar fare;
Souvenirs to go

~~~~~~~~~


Seasonal fruit
A yearly dessert;
Duku escapade

~~~~~~~~~


Old colonial shophouse 
Freehold property;
Modern facelift

~~~~~~~~~


Business cycles dash
Yesterday's bubble tea;
Today's cafe glitz

~~~~~~~~~


Shopping arcade
Organized pandemonium;
Electronic extravaganza

~~~~~~~~~


Bread and toast
Shopping mall happenings;
Cafe pondering

~~~~~~~~~


Old haunts call
Flavours and tints;
Urban oasis

~~~~~~~~~


Congested...

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I always seem 
to end up here, shuffling
along the river, soul deep
in its waters. I wallow
for a while like an old,
crusty animal, trying 
to rid myself
of the usual parasites.
These pests gasp
for air beneath its tides
and...

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Ann-Marie

Tombs for teeth stuck out 
On stocks overhanging
A trembling lower lip the
Impression of permanent snivel
Impeding would-be normal childish speech
Should such a thing ever have been desired

Passionately pleading 
Dark brown eyes - doe I think they’d...

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Traveled
        by Odin Roark
 
Once traveled
    looking back is a
         smoke-filled window.

 Once traveled
   ...

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Holiday season
Shopping spree;
Downtown bazaar

~~~~~~~~~


Easy atmosphere
All sorts of stuff;
Bargains galore

~~~~~~~~~


Table stalls cluster
Mini display items;
Souvenir trinkets

~~~~~~~~~


Crowded commotion
Zesty curiosity;
Sellers and buyers

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Tucked in a corner
Custom-made brooches;
Artistic flair revealed

~~~~~~~~~


Flea market bazaar
Noisy excavations;
Happy discoveries

~~~~~~~~~


Vendors preside
Over special goods;
Come buy, come buy

~~~~~~~~~


Business pulse...

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Second chance, I gave that to you
You did not compensate
You sing of penitence
Yet would not cross the bridge of redemption
So scarred through and through
What did not understand
Cannot penetrate
Why am the focus of your vile obsession
The...

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Radio blasting 
Loud music screams;
Intruding words

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Mental movie
Visualisation techniques;
Attract good stuff

~~~~~~~~~


Cellphone outlet
Mobile accessories;
Too much distractions

~~~~~~~~~


Secular world view
Greedy appetites ground;
Competition chokes

~~~~~~~~~


Lunch banquet
Feast for the senses;
Frugality absent

~~~~~~~~~


Temple visit
Ancestors await;
Family reunion

~~~~~~~~~


Church Sunday service
Sermon on the Mount;
Wise Jesus echoes

~~~~~~~~~


Late night...

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Late night visions
Blur excavations;
Past sleeping hours

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Words fail
Passage purged;
Discarded poem

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Wander here
Fence-sitting neighbour;
Loiter with desolation

~~~~~~~~~


Feasting over
Festival ended;
Yet people dance around

~~~~~~~~~


Cite a fine say
Read a good book;
Self-discovery awaits

~~~~~~~~~


Curious scent
Perfume mists;
Fragrance in the air

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By this river
Goods and sure trade;
Tourists...

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Last month's hurricane ripped down dunes, re-
scalloped the shore, snatched away a car.
 Now there's a smooth spread
 of waves again where sandpipers scoot
 across wet sand, their enigma of glyph tracks
washed away with the...

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Disappearance 
Like delicate snow that melts 
in the midst of our breathe 
Can you feel the heat of what we say
taste sexual precipitation
When our tongues drag across 
sensuous excavations 
delivering a pause
where we examine protrusions 
Practicing a more deliberate 
artifact extraction.
A...

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Bus stop sensations
Where's the bus?
Tardy connection

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Old contact hearsay
Not much to say;
Silent confrontation

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Frangipani sunrise
Pink, yellow, white --
Magical moments

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Smoky stray wind
Grim echoes;
Stale air descends

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Shoppes in decline
Ancient wares loiter;
No takers

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Evening settles
Noisy commotions fade;
Mahjong excavations!

~~~~~~~~~


By this old quay
Modern face...

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Reflecting on Stonehenge
Ancient mysteries
Neolithic man left behind
Their enlightened thought suggests
heaven and earth are twin powers
harnessed through astronomy 
Standing stones silent witness.

Sunrise, sunset, and solstice
Natural chronometer 
heaven's perpetual pulse
Celebrations long since dead
Echoes muted
Excavations ongoing
hypothesis abounding.

Abiding mystery
What...

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in the screen door
         a small hole

corruption forms its disorderly queue
               black fuzzy...

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