Long Extol Poems

Athenian Epitaphs

Mariner, do not ask whose tomb this may be,
but go with good fortune: I wish you a kinder sea.
—Michael R. Burch, after Plato

Does my soul abide in heaven, or hell?
Only the sea gulls
in their...

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[First posted in 3 parts. Intended novel: time never allowed]

Prologue
This,  Sir, is the prologue from before our tale begins
About the day our father did succumb to mortal sins
And left behind a man who would...

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Stood I there, that last day,
On an iron bridge...
An aqueduct by design,
Where, looking dreamily out over
The Ernes Lower Lough,
My compressed shadow 
Momentarily paused -
To contently recline:
Amidst coy Junes radiant beams 
of sweet benign!
All was stilled,...

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The Raven and the Bard
-Daniel Henry Rodgers

The Raven's quill drips shades of blackest night,
Its haunting words, a melody of fright.
The Bard's natural lines, like "Evangeline's" fair hair,
Shed history's warm light to chase away all care...

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Part I

Rock n Roll came through the slave trade
The Hippies and Moonies said “We’ve got it made”
“Rock n Roll sounds came from the jungle” [Lennon said]
The blues helped through the struggle
The rhythm and the movements...

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As hapless vapors of decay, surround us, suffocating the fecund earth. A blanket of suffocating grey, born from the diseased aspirations of humanity. We, the self-appointed masters of a planet in shambles, gaze upon the...

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Niithaar Perumai, the Fundamental Role of Ascetics, Canto 26 of the Thirukkural, the Tamil Classical Treatise on Ethics, Translation and Commentary by T. Wignesan 


[Given the scarcity of information (mostly conflicting even then) on the...

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A Simple Pen

                                Ever...

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As aspiration seeks to take its toll,
your mass flotilla salvaged sons of war.
‘Twas but a feat the angels will extol
though Satan’s army rallies at your door.
Your youthful fit have vowed to serve the Crown.
They muster...

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As allies falter from his Blitzkrieg force,
the blood of British sons infuse the sand.
They pray their brothers front the Channel’s course
for they have failed to gain the upper hand.
And, so they wait as devastation rides
upon...

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Is not God a concept, till we see Him?
How will memorising scriptures assist?
Conditioned beliefs make our soul’s light dim.
Love alone is real and that’s life’s gist.
A Hindu believes God takes many forms,
whilst for a Christian,...

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James Joyce:
In winding streets of Dublin, I did dwell,
found Ulyssean tales to weave and tell.
In this modern age, voices rise anew.
What themes thrive, Margaret, in works like you?

Margaret Atwood:
Ah, James, your stream, like a cerebral...

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For soon the rains of destiny will fall
as innocence capitulates its soul.
Aggression sealed your fears within a wall
to let disease and hunger take their toll.
Your rank-and-file dissolved into the night
with nary whisper echoing their names,
‘tis...

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Providence On Behalf Of Love
 

I that have seen such beauty 
fallen beneath its gleam 
rejected my life’s duty  
to wade thus in its stream  

Saturating me with love  
bathed in moon’s...

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When Dragon was a few months old, his future was already there to see.
He’d tried to fly, with his penguins’ encouragement. Yes! Oh My! Oh Me!
We kept hearing all day long: That Dragon’s down! That...

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Solitary rituals of mourning the write way, right?

Papa... bless his (your) heart and soul,
impossible mission your second born
sole male heir cingularly communicates,
viz his avocational crafted poem, since
written words, mine metier
write most pained words

with great difficulty,...

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Then Sings my Soul
My Savior God to Thee,
How Great Thou Art,
How Great Thou Art!

Psalm 23:3

He restores my soul.
He guides me in the
paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Psalm 33:1

Sing joyfully to the LORD,
you righteous; it is...

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My trees are being rampaged by man's cruelty;
doesn't he feel empathy when they crumble down,
to be shipped on barns and trains for huge profits?
And while my darlings don't bleed like he does, they suffer by...

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I've always loved lizards, which explains a lot, 
My youth spent exploring what others would not. 
Our days at the park would find me in pursuit
Of speedy blue bellies (in long dry swim suit.)	
A butterfly...

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THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER’S SKIN

Shota Rustaveli (c. 1160-1250), often called simply Rustaveli, was a Georgian poet who is generally considered to be the preeminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age. “The Knight in the...

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He plays the chords with his blue depression
          still searching for true loves heart expression
Though there is praise for this worlds celebrity
    ...

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I had a dream that I was a butterfly
winged iridescent; my life would flutter by
as I was dreaming a dream of a dream of
my own lepidopteron being above.

Hither and thither I flightily flitted,
or so it...

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Misshapen limbs of the Palo Verde trees add an artistic touch to the landscape. While 
Honeysuckle twine about the old rail fence and the spiny Ocotillo flash scarlet plumes. 

Mesquite trees, older than the homestead,...

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Adulterous besieging capstone damnation
exploitation foists groping, heaving
insidiously jerking
knowingly lunges
machinations notoriously nymphomaniacal 
officiating penile quests
rapaciously, sadistically 
tenaciously, unstoppably 
vasocongested wickedness 
Xerses yawped zeolously.
*************************** 
All throughout history of  man/woman kind
ascendent civilizations extensively gouged, 
impailed, kindled, murderous...

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Sons and daughters of the first born
From original source we were all shorn

Progeny of the brightest stars
All were unwitting avatars

Flung from the quiver
Each a message to deliver

Look out at the world
Into which we were hurled

We...

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