Long Feminine Poems

Somehow, 
Forward, and headlong
I knew it was day again

There was a shift in the dark mutterings of the Devil,
Who now refused to sleep as I refused to sing,
Almost an anticipation in his voice,
As if he...

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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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Dream-worker 
delves deeply into my dream;

vibrations fondle anticipation
foreplay wakes wide-eyed 
swells of liquid libido quake the rendezvous edge -
a primordial being in his prime
a masculine ego quest for affaire d’amour;
her night-loving body 
c h a...

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Cooperative Feministas
are not quite so much Competitive Manifestos.

In David Holmgren's introduction to Permacultural Therapeutic Design,
he contrasts "Industrial Culture" with "Sustainable Culture"
kind of like comparing masculine LeftBrain culture
with feminist RightBrain enculturation, nurturance, resonance
over the longer-term scenaria,
rather...

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She stood with her back turned to me
Leaning slightly towards where the light tapered off into darkness
Her faced buried deep inside her cupped hands 
Her own shadow towered over her seemingly at odds with her...

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I met a proper woman in a proper pub on a Monday in Peoria. It was noon, time for lunch, and we were sitting stool to stool over very large burgers at a long mahogany...

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“But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet;Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
–“He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven,” by W.B. Yeats 

“I love you...

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I don't know what came over me that day - an instant of weakness after years of resistance, I suppose.

My beaming spouse leads me, a dog on a short leash, into the forbidden citadel, the...

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Potawatomi language,
says Robin Wall Kimmerer,
does not verbally divide us into masculine and feminine.
However, unlike most English verbs,
Potawatomi verbs distinguish between animate and inanimate objects.

For example,
we use sit down
when speaking to an unruly son
and set down
when...

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How the housefly gets attracted to organic decay
and an infant child traces the voice of its mother
are nothing compared to the intense attraction
Michelle and I possess on the guy owning not a strand of hair...

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I will make a collage of my college days
Just like I did with my High School days...at least in my mind every May as long as the memories stay with me...I know they won't stray...

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I was wiping the dust off an old snow globe in the upstairs attic, when a mop of honey-blonde hair suddenly appeared through the wooden flooring.
     "I thought I'd find you...

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My dreams were of the dire Queen
I had allowed her reign over me, callousing my heart,
She was inside me, laughing
Having crawled in
My walls closing, as she filled my soul
We were one, yes for a time,...

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   ...while true feminists say that they are feminists because they care for the well-being of women, the modern feminist group, True/Active Feminism does exactly the opposite. They use the form of "dis-pair"...

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Renee Vivien Translations


Song
by Renée Vivien
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

When the moon weeps,
illuminating flowers on the graves of the faithful,
my memories creep
back to you, wrapped in flightless wings.

It's getting late; soon we will sleep
(your eyes...

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Finding a new hiding place
the grass cutters cherish
not taking advantage is deemed extremely foolish.

Taking note of the lady who seems Scottish 
and protected by her beauty and charisma 
is a situation meant for me to...

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The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel)

‘Iron Lady,’ of sensual beauty in the ‘City of Light:’
(La Dame De Fer: Bienvenue a Paris, France!)

Built to be the world’s tallest structure at 300 meters,
As the gateway entrance to...

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In glamor-light of sunset
a new crowd of cumulus clouds arrive
and revive a sepia sky-scene—
unworldly woolgatherers gather
spinning fantasy fluff into quixotic yarns
of debutantes dancing with honeymoon hunger;
their dewy eyes blurred by the sawdust of stardust

pseudo-princess-pleasure-seekers
—drama daring...

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There stood a castle on the summit of a hill
Now fallen to decay, hidden among bushes wild
It perched like an eagle’s nest on the steep hill
It was owned by a Lord, gentle and mild

Blessed with...

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The New Man, a Human being in transition.

The New Man is not a softie but knows the healing, creative power of vulnerability, how to melt and let his heart be touched. 

He knows how to...

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You raise me up above the mountains
You bring me below the vibrant valleys
You allow me to weep happy fountains 
When I walk in your bright alleys

Enormous in envy my heart is
Nervouscited for what lies ahead...fed...

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A FADING QUEEN
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS

She had  all the feminine gifts those many years ago
Drawing stares from everyone where ever she’d  go
Back in high school, she was the center of attraction
In every classroom, she...

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The birth of a kid is just an adventure
Which has its start about nine months before 
After an instant of joy or of  venture,

When seed of man is reaching up its score
In the twisty...

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(An Echo Poem)

 

Poet’s Prenote:

This is a new poetic form that I have invented (I think)? I call it an Echo Poem where two stand alone poems (with their own titles) are given a new...

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