Long Obstructing Poems

Here We Shall Remain
by Tawfiq Zayyad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Like twenty impossibilities
in Lydda, Ramla and Galilee ...
here we shall remain.

Like brick walls braced against your chests;
lodged in your throats
like shards of glass
or prickly cactus...

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CRISIS TEAM: HELLO WE ARE HERE TO HELP

AGENT BROWN: HELLO I'M AGENT BROWN IN DIRE NEED OF THE FBI HELP AFTER I CONTACTED THE FBI ABOUT THE ARSON MURDERER OF 9 CIRO GARGANO AND HIS...

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"The In-Between"

I ripped the pages of 
that tired old story 
from the heart, a body of work

buried the misdiagnosed slanders
then wiped their mouths
with the back of my spoon

the feed they found,
passed the disingenuous time;
some found...

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“Just when he thought he’d had all he could take,
April arrived like a careless mistake.” 

From DRIVING DIXIE DOWN by Anonymous Brown
Smithstonian Folkways Recordings catalogue # 317-704-1106

When something is broken, it’s no longer of any...

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#BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, OH WHAT WE STORE! SILENTLY ABHOR! TO OUR DETRIMENT, {CHANGE}THAT SHOULDN'T BE IGNORED. DOING NOTHING OR LESS, WHERE PERTINENT, INSTEAD OF MORE!  TURNOUT/BURNOUT...AN UNEVEN SCORE. 

EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING, "YOU NAME IT"...

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Yes, I lost who I was and I walked the wrong way
Alcohol and drugs, I was killing the brain I was deep in my blood and weakened my love like that others and self-esteem I...

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Firearms magazine offer manifold big bang for their buck, 
many ear rational per son or daughter loves advocate, the late chuck 
heston (now a shooting star occasionally visiting Earth from celestial vault) 
  ...

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I push my head out the car window
As far as I can reach
I’m on a ride
Through Beirut
Energized
Galvanized
Oblivious to the walls
Of restriction
On my soul
I lean out futhur
My hair wild and free
The wind making love to me
Caressing...

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Prince Jargo
was on a mission to
slay the evil green dragon
of the kingdom of
Wondrous Land 
which consisted of people,
kindly dragons, dragonflies,
huffle-winks and the 
mean-spirited green dragon,
his father King Andro insisted 
it was time for young 
Prince...

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The cloud rained heavily on the boy, it stayed a while.
He tried to find somebody to help, but did not know the number to dial.
He stopped playing his beloved guitar,
Each dark cloud that passed him...

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Rage, despair, grief, devastation and regret, flowing like 
hot lava spewing out from a volcano through my veins,
pushing out my red hot blood onto this white leaf;
For suddenly and without any fair warning came,
an enormous...

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These are the words that were said:—;—:
Mentions of solitude and authority:
Debates on whether you were the ruler,
Or God. 
Or perhaps I was the ruler, as you are fiction,
And I am your creator—God. But who
Created me?...

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It all started on a sunny afternoon 
while precious’s mother was taking a shower 
she left little Precious(her baby girl) on the couch 
unknowing to her 
little Precious, the good manoeuverer 
had crawled out of...

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Written: May 2nd, 2024

                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quixotic quest quiddity
As dusk sapidity emerges, 
Casting a shadow 
Weeping waves smash 
in foamy scatters; 
seraphic strophic sojourn 
groans...

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My sergeant said you've been trained well you know what to do
Your assignment an ambush, do not return until the sky is blue.
We gathered our weapons and lots of ammo
And waited till dark then said...

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#IT'S TIME TO TAKE INVENTORY...

ITS TIME TO EVALUATE CERTAIN CATEGORIES...

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING TAKES UP SPACE, DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN IT SHOULD...

OBTAIN
MAINTAIN 
REMAIN 

IN YOUR SPACE, NOR IN MINE.

LET'S KEEP IN MIND, THE QUESTION BEGS...
REGARDING SOMETHING OR...

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As I drive away from the past, from my old life, I look into the rearview mirror and hear my conscience say “Don’t think twice”
But it hurts, because in the wreckage left behind, I see...

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The River that runs”
 
The heavenly river that runs consistently with its pleasant tranquilizing flow.
Furnishing my soul with contentment.
Anointing my body from head to toe.
The splashing waves are the whispers of God’s infinite word.
That travels...

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Warm Heart Warm Hands

Evening fell with blizzard snow along the lake
It had turned to a thick smooth sheet of ice
Shades of gray black set in with the twilight
Ghost images of swirling snow
Changing forms and shapes...

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When lost in the woods
one wanders lugubriously directionless
in the weeds vines and branches
obstructing the altogether magnificent world
that abounds and surrounds
the muddled mind of the soul-filled seeker:

Truth traveler and mystical unraveller
plodding ahead confused in dread
of what...

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We went on a hike to the top of a mountain…on a morning still sprinkled with dew…
anticipating all the way up..and once at the top..we were in for some wonderful views.

We knew we would see...

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I have lost my track, all around I see only darkness.
Is it because my eyes are blind folded or my sight impaired?
I grope and stagger, not knowing where my next step leads.
This miserable plight leaves...

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No doubt an Eskimo as fabulous breeze
feeling in their element with style, elan 
   while snacking on crackers and cheese  

   this spate of bitter cold doth not seem to...

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Naked Beneath the Robe


Would you have us all dress the same?
Coerce us into believing it is our favorite outfit,
influence the tide of fashion down a one way street.

Would you limit the words available to us?
Deny...

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On these lonely and forlorn days,
the word past,
more than the word future,
grew and piled high as the castle wall.
I acquired a tendency to measure my future
from the length of the setting sun on other side...

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