Long Ghazal Poems

Near Sainthood
by Mirza Ghalib
translation by Kanu V. Prajapati and Michael R. Burch

On the subject of mystic philosophy, Ghalib,
your words might have seemed deeply profound
and we might have pronounced you a saint...
if only we hadn't found
you...

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Poems about Things that Break I
 
These are poems about things that break and/or shatter: a bubble, glass, a mirror, a twig or tree limb, a thunderstorm, cities and towers in times of war, old...

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Last Night 
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
translation by Michael R. Burch

Last night, your memory stole into my heart
as spring sweeps uninvited through barren gardens
as morning breezes revive dormant deserts
as a patient suddenly feels better for no...

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Mehmet Akif Ersoy: Modern English Translations of Turkish Poems

Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873-1936) was a Turkish poet, author, writer, academic, member of parliament, and the composer of the Turkish National Anthem.



Snapshot
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation...

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Please change the subsequent pronouns if you are praying this alone, in groups or in the Church, thank you)
 
Lord, Father Christ, please have mercy on me/us
Lord Eternal God, please have mercy on me/us
Lord, Father...

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Dear Budding Poet:
Modern poetry is a sandbox for all who would build, smash, trash, shake up, and take up the art. Poetry is not writ, nor wrote, or written, but is hummed through the nose,...

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Lorca Translations I

Gacela of the Dark Death
by Federico Garcia Lorca
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

I want to sleep the dreamless sleep of apples
far from the bustle of cemeteries.
I want to sleep the dream-filled sleep of...

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No stars tonight, yet eyes transcend towards bright moonlight.
Oh Moon, without words, we converse in lone quiet moonlight.

Angst of two hearts apart, shows in somber persona,
spirit fears her vision will fade with benight moonlight.

Untouched unique...

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Salvation…

The nightingale was singing to the moonlight. 
The moonlight was showing off all of its bright.
He was singing as though he knew the right path,
Showing everybody how to do it right.
Suddenly, heard a sound like...

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What Happened to Them?
by Nasir Kazmi
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Those who came ashore, what happened to them?
Those who sailed away, what happened to them?

Those who were coming at dawn, when dawn never arrived ...
Those...

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A little piece I wrote for Flips Funeral
 There is an interlude to the beginning
 But the present has now passed
 As I record this passage
 Of a hero to the last
 So I beat...

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 An unceasing explorer of the woods of birch and maple until this moment,
   I wish to weave my dreams of soothing repose in this moment.

 Every day has painted a tangled image...

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Remembering the Past
 
Tito is Tagalog of Uncle
Tito David Rodriguez and Tito Willie Totanes are very good friends
Up rising Star-Ms. Jacqueline R. Mendoza

Tito David recruited me to Filipino American Multimedia Entertainment (FAME) 
on the 90’s
Tito...

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I know you, I know your thought,
I won't be intimidated by their sunny
Red blazing eyes that hurts minds.
My ink might not be better now but
I won't give up in the quest to know more,
I will...

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When tongue is silent, but muse is chanting - that's poetry.
When we write what the heart has been asking - that's poetry.

As dawn's hues glisten golden rays, in blue, bronze, orange skies,
musings mirror daydreams, so...

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I'm proud to be a Persian, there's no doubt
Though some may look at me with veiled disdain
To honored heritage I give a shout
And here I bare my love in words so plain

When Cyrus captured Babylon's...

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I’m sorry that I wasn’t a good decent   boyfriend
But I can’t change the past
I wish that I didn’t let you go
I deserved it
I deserved to be cheated on 
I wasn’t good enough for...

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There is a forgotten me in me
The sound of rain in the gutter

The satisfied passion that is obvious in me
It is the desire of life and the thought of death

A drunken song that was in...

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Mahammad Fuzuli (1494-1556)

Mahammad Fuzuli, the poet-philosopher, is one of the founders of the divan genre in the history of Azerbaijani and Turkish literature. He wrote his works in three languages (Turkish, Arabic, Persian) in the...

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I dread the day when I get "the call"
When they tell me that you've gently slipped away
Well, at least I hope it will be gentle
As you close your eyes and say goodnight
Despite my fear of...

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Growing pains
It’s hard to breathe.
I can’t live 
Your existence is too far distance
My growing pains is pointless

I feel heartless Joleen.
I’m crying with tears
I’m dying without you.
My heart feels hate.
My mind feels negativity.
My skull  ...

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(Bal-e-Jibril-151) Javed Iqbal Ke Naam:
(On receiving  first letter of Javed Iqbal(Late Son of Dr Allama Iqbal) in London)
https://youtu.be/jGv1lCDjHEk
Senior Justice Javed Iqbal (5 October 1924 – 3 October 2015) was a Pakistani philosopher and senior...

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(In an Idiosyncratic Form, a Combination of Sonnet and Ghazal)

No one can describe you aptly. Men like you are few and rare.
The languages we people speak mirror our worlds everywhere,
Reflect our own good and bad...

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"This was fun collaborating with my wife Wendy. We each took turns writing a stanza. Together we wrote 12 stanzas - each with 16 syllables" ~The Poets~

Unarguable power of desire drew me to your true...

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