Long Granada Poems

I have been instructed to release the following
manuscript on the death of my client
Mr John Phillips. Who was a former officer in the Royal Air Force.

Mr P.J .Carruthers.  LLB.
Solicitor for estates and wills.
London.
16th February...

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the grace of Paris
lingering in my thoughts. . . 
Madrid’s grimy walls

As our small group of students entered Madrid, it was an early morning in late January. We had left behind us what has been...

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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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Lorca Translations III

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright and theater director. He was assassinated by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and his body was never found.

Paisaje (“Landscape”)
by...

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Lorca Translations II

Canción del jinete (“Song of the Rider”)
by Federico Garcia Lorca
translation by Michael R. Burch

Cordoba. Distant and lone.
Black pony, big moon,
olives in my saddlebag.
Although my pony knows the way,
I never will reach Cordoba.

High plains,...

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From Chicago to Tampa Bay in a Ford Granada some time in the mid- 70's. Unfortunately, we were not interested in mountains, because we took interstate 75 and drove through Tennessee 'at night'. We felt...

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So deaf, so blind are we-
Our little minds (judgmentally inclined )
base judgments on assumptions,
not on related facts !

So, on and on, the squirrel cage
goes, round and round, And no one listens
to what wise men still...

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There is a place so beautiful I'd love to see again.
My dream vacation started in Madrid, in central Spain.
How I long to stroll again down by Retiro Lake
and see El Prado art museum. Then for...

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WINDOW SEAT

Sitting beside him in the window seat as they
taxied for take-off at the end of the day, she was
nubile and pretty, as young as his daughter, nearly
perfect in the way of a late-autumn sunset...

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TAKING THE OATH
For those who are born again through the Oath of Citizenship	
at the Onondaga County Courthouse, Syracuse, New York!  

The morning prayers over
the neighbor’s car cold, the ride
to the court house quiet as...

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Priceless
Correct 

If you are down and find yourself in
desperate need of cheering up

Then laughter must surely be the
best medicine

To not only rectify but turn both
your frown and mood upside down 

Because if in fact we...

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JOURNEY- 1995

Weren’t we hauling ass?
The sheep, the olive trees, sentinel windmills,
the woodlands and fields, the rivers, the creeks,
the undulating topography like the musical score
of a landscape melody riding on the rhythms of
a percussion ensemble of...

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Within these apartment walls 
Depression looms, 
Permeates, destroys. 
Its sterile white walls 
Are oppressive,
Even claustrophobic.
Silverfish slither 
Across white ceilings, 
I pray they don’t drop 
Into my mouth
As I sleep.

I lay on my roll out sofa,
Praying...

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I stood my watch into the night
Even though it was cold
Even though it was hot
In countries I could hardly spell

I trained every day to be ready to serve
On land, on sea, and in the air
I...

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A best-selling song was recorded by Mark Dinning.
In a string of sad songs, this was just the beginning.
In 1960, the lyrics conveyed teary eyes.
“Teen Angel” was a big hit, and it was no surprise.

Many sad...

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THE AL-ANDALUS QUARTET: PART THREE
GRANADA / KHARNATA 1492 AD / 897 AH

I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
with my beautiful sisters Albaicin and Sabikah
The crown that I wear is al-hisn al-hamra 
and the...

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Touched by God's light  Born in Granada.
               Federico used to presume 
        ...

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The full moon shines 
              over Granada.
               ...

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(The Torre Vela is a prominent castle tower
at the "prow" of the Alhambra Palace, and
dominates the Spanish city of Granada.)

My lame-ass lips can't even draw 
McDonalds milkshake through a straw: 
and if I must 
run...

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(Torre Vela = prominent tower, part of
the Alhambra palace, Granada, Spain)

My lame-ass lips can't even draw 
McDonalds milkshake through a straw: 
and if I must 
run for the bus, 
I take an oxygen inhaler. 
You...

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Parted by the cobbled stones
colonial brick patterned high,
baby boomer's and fragile bones
strolling under a watchful eye.
The dizziness continues to bustle
joined by beggars and thieves,
marveling at the persistent hustle
as the sun is setting to leave.
Cultures meet...

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When peace reigned 

In the year 1334 or so 
the residents in Alhambra thought Catholic 
chimed too early on Sundays
at the time, Granada was ruled by, The Muslims that went along fine with the Christians,...

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“Córdoba, lejana y sola”
– F.G.Lorca

 

The eyes of the women from Córdoba
are olive green
and steps are shadows,
but you are going to Cádiz,
where the wind recognizes
as its only our longest street.
The trumpet plays in storages and...

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