Long Michel Poems

Spiritual Mahjong
Your Move Lord

Is there a God?
A benevolent entity.
An eternal presence presiding over me.
A creator, watching and observing.
All knowing.
Is my end determined and conclusive before it begins, before I begin?
If so, then to what purpose...

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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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Slang..
Chick-fil-a = the best place ever
jade = 
brooke = gorgeous 
mishin = the boss, as in “You aren’t the boss of me.”

Orpheus
We’re on vaycay. School is OVER, COVID is over. We’re in New York City...

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I'd risen from my bed quite early, in the pale silent sunshine,
And I thought to have a day out, and not waste summer's prime.

The world still was sleeping, but the bluebirds sang a tune,
And blooms...

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UNQUOTABLE QUOTES: LI - Tongue-Teasers

If you want to give someone a « taste of his own medicine", you must first obtain sufficient quantities of the same medicine in the market, and if it’s out-of-stock -...

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About Bill Posters and Bill Greenwell

Words not to use in poems

In 1993, I (Bill Greenwell) went on a three-day workshop with the poet Peter Sansom, who co-edits The North, and runs the Smith/Doorstop imprint. He’s...

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IF EVER I HAD A COUNTRY : LX - LXI

The Yijing says : " If the common folk commit crimes, the fault for them shall reside with this one person (i.e., the Sovereign) himself… "...

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I remember that day and never looking back
I said goodbye to my family and grabbed my duffel bag
Im off to be a hero just like my grandfather and my dad
Im going to fight for America...

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Once upon a time in a city called Paris in France, there was a young boy named Michel.
He had been called from the country to live with his grandmother in the city.


Since he was new...

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Villanelle: Who's afraid of the Virgin Wolf's wisdom tooth

(As unlikely as it may sound, this happens to be the TRUTH: the foremost French journalist, André FONTAINE of Le Monde; an illustrious  Academician poet, Pierre...

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Un-revelling Rivalry

Who am I to speak of historical rivalry I cannot contest
all the clever myriad truths conjectures and refutations
about the two masters the two foes with huge presence
when history acclaim appreciation is subjective personal 
up...

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These are my English translations of songs sung by Dimash Kudaibergen.

This is my translation of one of my favorite Dimash Kudaibergen songs, the French song "S.O.S." ...

S.O.S.
by Michel Berger
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Why do...

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Oh, if I could quickly bare witness to God's perfect hand in life renew.
Oh, if I now could bare witness to his wondrous seasonal debut.

Oh if spring would come and release my body from the...

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Ballade : In favour of those called Decadents and Symbolists, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s Ballade en faveur des dénommés Décadents et Symbolistes

						for Léon Vanier*

(The texts I use for my translations are from : Yves-Alain Favre,...

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Non descript hedge rows sculpted into ornamental animal 
via botanical artist wielding pruning shears and chain saw 
carved, limned and sculpted with wrist wrought voila uber
prestidigitatiously head turning botanical picturesque Sun
kist animals at an exhibition...

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Le Nouveau Monde,Le bistrot du Lounge
the foods here caused a conversation
One that had several people to find
 facts that made them wonder.
In film research, exploratory research
 is often referred to as formulative research
 or practice-based...

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The komoris' eyes fix the camera
                             ...

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Adieu Michel, adieu the great gem

An icon bore when the wind stood still

As I waved this emotional hands in fear, 

My tears hung in the mid air

And the gravitation could not pull it down.

 

Say...

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I got green banana stain in my heart
I got Lacatan, Gros Michel, and Robuster
And payday tomorrow, sweetheart
I got big fields and dreams in a cluster
I got banana stain 
Flowing in my Elderslie vein
And all I...

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The importance of Pomposity
(Not to be taken seriously)

The Perfect life, a wife half his age
Their house grand, with a zip code to match
All bought and paid for.
No hawkers, appointments only

But look closer
The Wife bides her...

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Actions please us deeper than just words-
though teasers talk up promises so made
with words that sound like songs of pretty birds;
the music's sweet, but sours when pledges fade.

Words flow smoothly, soothing heart and mind
with hopeful...

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(Dianna-Marie was born in 1979) 

Twenty years old and married to my best friend
 I lived upstairs my parents in a duplex on St. Michel 
 Each night before we went to bed we prayed...

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In the year gone by, I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I've walked over sands leading to the Mont Saint-Michel
I've even gazed into the eyes of the Mona Lisa, and realized
This is not...

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the rapture 


Each story fell to the ground
feathers were collected
in the die-off different colours
prismed in the silver dust 
of moon eclipsing sun
the in-between time
where the sky parted
like torn curtains 
the Grimoire words
flew off the page
into...

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CRASH

What if we could crash into every person we come into contact with…
Not crash in a painful way….
But… 
But crash as in…
A connecting sense. 
Becoming one with that person for one second…
Just a touch of...

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