Long Iambic Poems

Sweet Rose of Virtue
by William Dunbar (c. 1460-1530)
loose translation/modernization/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

after William Dunbar

Sweet rose of virtue and of gentleness,
delightful lily of youthful wantonness,
richest in bounty and in beauty clear
and in every virtue that...

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The tears well up, and scarce could she not moan
When father, brother, husband, all have died.
She now has no possessions, neither home,
But travels to a distant, unknown land:
Once so secure, yet now compelled to roam;
Once...

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Translation of Les Moulins de mon Cœur-THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND by T. Wignesan

(For the orignal text in French by Eddy MARNAY : see here below. The English version by Marilyn and Alan BERGMAN differs...

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Crown of Sonnets in Iambic Pentameter: The Tale of Prince Zag


Note: The tale is six (6) sonnets long, each sonnet has 14 lines, each line contains variable words bearing 10 syllables, nevertheless, this tale bears...

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Thus it begins—
A free-verse epic
Into the mind of
A writer and an idiot—
A romantic and, 
Often a pessimist
Conjoined in arbitrary glory
Are the thoughts and words 
Of one overly-worked mind—
Charismatic and, of course,
On the pushover, pitiful
And usually...

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Act 3. A dark, empty stage.

Marat
(standing up)

My eyes went blank. That's how it goes when
you have been doubly knocked flat on your back
in half an hour. He went, he went,
he went, he went, he went,...

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Pardon any absent adulation, bequeathed capitulation, devoted dedication, indiscretion, blabbering peroration, improper salutation or any unintended vexation if this unknown earthling sent a nearly identical message. He over-looked a small number of errors and hoped...

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Again the alarm is set.

Strawberries, date squares…Yum, Yum.   

The alarm rings again. The tea party is over.

 She returns to her perch where her wings are immediately clipped by the Bald Eagle who...

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"Skinwalker"


That one’s mind 
is like a scene from Chagall
dreams flow like blood bleeds
across the cortex page curtain call
an audience with the silent speakeasy 
cerebellum with its swift
matter-of-factness 
logically guides the fingers 
to dance across keys...

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I am a tempest of words, aching to burst forth.
(Years of structured lessons simmer beneath my skin.)

The most important thing is that I'm drowning in metaphors. 
Being a poet shapes reality, and twists what you...

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“ChatGPT-4, can you give me your literary opinion on the following sonnet? By the way, it is preambled by an explanatory prolegomenon which discusses the sonnet’s theme and my inspiration for composing it:”

Mental “Masturbation”

(The title...

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Telling tales or stories is a favourable pasttime;
But using pictures to tell stories of past and present,
Yours remind me of days back in time,
Would not be all very  recent,
Last ones of grateful recline
To golden...

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As soon as I heard 
You were the First African American Male
To win the Pulitzer prize for Poetry
I wanted to run out and celebrate
I wanted to wake up Hughes and Dunbar
And Baraka and say we...

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O to tune in to good times of childhood—
To re-live gone-by years, not just to brood,
To lighten dust-laden baggage’s dead tare,
To unburden mind of deadwood afloat, 
To fast-forward to dusky days of old, 
To turn...

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The FBI CRISIS TEAM  came on quite suddenly 
I saw her standing there dark skinned ashy 
knees she was after my identity strangest 
feeling this crime is the worse because it lingers 

identity fraud...

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EFFUSED ENCOUNTER


Neither a dream nor a trick, I beguiled--
I reach the sky enameled with golden smile.
To hurdle bumps and curves, I continue to pedal
this steadfast being yearn to step on a pedestal,
I found at the...

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I move my hurtful head and stare forlorn
Over my non-existing boundary,
Where past is seen and future laughs decayed.
Here language is an unwelcome guest,
In stillness awkward, clean environment.
My eyes stay empty, yet insist and glare
Through looks...

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My Prayer of the Day

I’m broken Lord, I’ve come here now to pray
To beg forgiveness, for I’ve lost my way
I’ve done and said things, lived outside Your will
For that I’ve suffered, and I suffer still

I’ve...

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What are words other than coffin nails be?
Who does it belong to when it rails me?
An empty vessel at best that bails thee.

Lend me your ear and draw your heart near;
my words might seer, but...

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Me: "Bing, the intended rhyme scheme for the poem below is ABABAB; and I made additional changes in line 9 of the poem in order to improve its meter and make more vivid and clarify...

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Regarding merit: absent, missing, void
Of all redeeming qualities, save one,
The apple of His eye, His "very good.”
Was He, in pleasant garden, much annoyed
When they His one divine decree did shun
To taste forbidden fruit because they...

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MONSIEUR L'VAMPYRE & THE BLACK LADY OF PARIS
Just south of Paris, lives the soul of me,
at my chateau, where few will ever see,
I'm compensated for the way
death lingers on from day to day
and makes each...

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Red Sunsets On The Blue Hills

What of soft red sunsets on the blue hills
Or true love found in sweet dreams of the light
Just as night frights give deeper cold chills
Crimson sunsetting views show heaven's might.

Such...

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MONSIEUR L'VAMPYRE & THE DARK LADY
Just south of Paris, lives the soul of me,
at my chateau, where few will ever see,
I'm compensated for the way
death lingers on from day to day
and makes each night a...

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The root word for religion is not kind – 
Latin verb that means to tie or to bind – 
as it tends to play tricks on anyone’s mind. 

For some, the edicts lash; they mercilessly...

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