Long Invader Poems

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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In another life  

There was a strife  

Angry like the frustrated wife  

Embarked on  

By those who enjoy a con  

‘Invade’ my enemy did say  

“You are going to...

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I had a passion for vibrant flowers, and I was often found in the garden,
As one gains the haunting night bird songs, in burgundy skies darkening.

My garden had many varieties of flowers, in countless appealing...

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I awoke to a clashing and clanging coming from my kitchen; in the hallway, I did stumble upon a frying pan.  A cautious peek revealing nothing left me to grab that frying pan for...

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Joy for me means that  

You are here where I once sat 

Clutching the reigns  

Playing political games  

Taking over my tasks  

Saying ‘I am not wearing any deceptive masks’ ...

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Reporting live on the soup, with Americas MOST. WANTED. POETS.
 Standing here with our host John, 
With an exclusive update on criminal poets, captured and on the run.
Switching over to you John,. "Thank you P.D.,...

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Scribal notions these, and oh so sorrowful,
But, despite their seeming poignance they are not additionally puissant, no. 
I have seem them, wrapped in warmed and moist leaves:
No, not the leaves as pages of books, as...

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We constantly deal with poetry which puts us in a soporific state,
we sit here apathetic to the cause of studying this beautiful art-
but Poetry’s breath Ad Nauseum about love and laments is bad for a...

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Come by the Sword, Die by the Sword

They stood in ranks a thousand long
High upon the hill
The Roman legion, fierce and strong
With sword and lance and bill

The Briton hoards below them stare
With wild fanatic eyes
They...

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One morning Ernie and I awoke to a noisy train yard,
It was that place many hitchers feared known as Chicago.
Since Ernie had traveled there before he warned me,
In that little voice he said don't open...

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The desert edge lies on the fringe of three worlds
And under this one sun I sit alone with one crow for company
Behind my worn down shack of lack lustre dreams
Rises to the horizon a jungle...

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Strange invader, from the moment I awaken, you are there -
a disgusting leech that has no name.
I describe you to various doctors.
They tell me they don’t know you
and pretend to believe me on how you...

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Dear Lady Liberty get down with the modern times,
Are we not the land of freedom, let the new rheum
Fill your scents, and let us all rock on!
The world is spinning with a harder edge beat,...

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CORONA VIRUS 
    
       Virus virulent various
       to surround all around
       ever bound to...

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Just?
 look, at YOU now, self righteous, you know YOUR rites best.
You have much to celebrate.
Celebrate diversity, the joy of
sex in the city. 
Make it, 
YOU, at your behest,
the center of your Universe. 
Where only...

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So exciting, I'm next, I'm next                             ...

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Twas a little piece of heaven in a bigger spot of hell,
Nestled in the bosom of the Sierra Nevadas.
I wasn't sure just what planet I had just landed on,
An alien invader in a strange mountain...

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He devastated foreign pastures

As a cog in a well oiled evil wheel 

A nameless legalized conqueror


They praised his endless courage

Reckless bravery under command

Following orders no questions asked


The contest was rigged in his favour

A mega machine...

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Overwhelmed by his love,
My lover set out to weave a tent for me
A house, with me in which it would delight him to dwell
A grand mansion over which He spared no expense

Consumed with loving concern...

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Red to Black

                                ...

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God is greater than the crush that caused the crater
The liars that always said, "Not now but certainly later."
The promise of pay to the delivery of dust
The raising of hope...happiness turns into rust
Always another tall...

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One year ago Dictator Putin’s
Massed military might 
Invaded the Ukraine
Not really expecting any fight.
One year later, with increasing 
Frustration and despair,
Putin’s battered conscript army 
Is still trapped and fighting there.
Like all modern military bullies
They failed...

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To ask a flower to kill a bee 
is to ask a man to become the beast. 
That is the will of war 

The skylark rages it’s voice above the battlefield 
For destiny lies below....

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There is an aura for the moment looking gloom 
Closing in on climatic resolution known as high noon 
Weather was dealt the color grey 
Heavy clouds outdoor on this day 
Blocking the sun from peeking...

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