Long Orient Poems

The First Thanksgiving (Sept. 3, 1578)

The shortest distance to Cathay 1
(Land of riches: silks, teas and spices)
Lay to the north to the South Sea. 2
Didn’t Barlow tell the King, 3
Was reserved for England.

The routes ‘round...

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Love has a Southern flavor: honeydew,
ripe cantaloupe, the honeysuckle’s spout
we tilt to basking faces to breathe out
the ordinary, and inhale perfume ...

Love’s Dixieland-rambunctious: tangled vines,
wild clematis, the gold-brocaded leaves
that will not keep their order in...

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Betty was bonafide crazy. She had shot her husband after a night of drunken quarreling, and was in the state mental hospital instead of being in the slammer. She'd shot the louse in the stomach...

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Columbus in the New World

Three ships sailed under Spanish colours
(The Santa Maria, Niña, and La Pinta)
And dropped anchor off the shores of San Salvador,
For Columbus and his crew manning the oars
To set foot on terra...

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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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IF EVER I HAD A COUNTRY : LXIV - LXV


NOTE (facts to bear in mind while reading) : Under the French Penal Code, harm done to the infirm, minors and seniors (i.e. over 65) is...

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Do you still wonder 
now that you’ve been washed out
into fate’s unforgiving seas
why you were sentenced to a life
you swore was in the wrong body?
Living in the wrong body is a natural crime
The price
To live...

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"Just live a little, Hawaiian style!" Quote by Hawaiian Style Band.

On the first day of Christmas, my tutu gave to me,
-- (and...) a-*Ne-ne-Goose-un-der-a-gua-va-tree.
(guava fruits are the best part of their diet--trust me)

On the second day...

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I have known:
   of wise detectives catching crooks
   of "Thought Police" revising books
   a shipwrecked family named Robinson
   of lion, witch, and wardrobe magic
   Heathcliff's...

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“To Edward Young”
by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
translation by Michael R. Burch

Die, aged prophet: your crowning work your fulcrum;
now tears of joy
tremble on angel-lids
as heaven extends its welcome.

Why linger here? Have you not already built, great Mover,
a...

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Beowulf Excerpts
anonymous Old English/Anglo-Saxon poem, circa 8th-10th century AD
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

LO, praise the prowess of the Spear-Danes
whose clan-thanes ruled in days bygone,
possessed of dauntless courage and valor.

All have heard the honors the...

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Oh, the wonders of China
   Far different than those of Carolina.
   "Me Wan See", I say to you
   Land of the Orient, so vast and true.
   Wonders...

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It was an unusual trip that was planned,
stranger still that my Mother-in-law was the reason.
A wonderful woman who was liked by all who knew her,
kind, gentle, hard working, and grateful for the gift 
of reaching...

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Continuation...........

On the second level, merchants homes and shops arrayed,
here were homes, of richer bearing, belonging to the more powerful,
mini palaces, with minarets adorning their heads, of purest gold,
the scents of the orient, here they did...

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There I was, in His presence,
like a pebble in a pond, surrounded & submerged in Satan's spirit,
I was safe though,
safe as sin in a liar's heart,
no threat of abduction, no bargaining for soul,
intimidation felt more...

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Pythagoras of Samos (580 BC-500BC) :

Born in the Greek island of Samos in the Northen
Agean Sea , -
Off the coast of Asia Minor of modern day 
Turkey ;
It was around late 6th century BC !
He...

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Spin that golden ball, let those lucky numbers to fall my way, 
Scratch me a shiny ticket for easy cash living, I’m in it to win
 After all, thus so I may achieve my lottery...

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Real Rally Rude
Another in a series of rude poems this is number five.
The boy eye noticed him and then ignored him remember boy
And the eye will soon get back to him as we aer now...

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Jarabe tapatío in Plaza Castillo,
girls dance in the Mexican night.
The floral bouquets of their dresses ablaze,
a rainbow of colors so bright

But it wasn't this way, far back in the day
when dances held little such drama.
So...

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GONE with the JACKASS
SOMETHING JACKASS this WAY COMES
Of MICE AND JACKASSES
The GRAPES of JACKASS
MOBY JACKASS
JACKASS in the RYE
I KNOW WHY the JACKASS SINGS
The GREAT JACKASS
JACKASS of the FLYS
MEIN JACKASS
BRAVE NEW JACKASS
PORTRAIT of the ARTIST as...

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Karen Windle roughly on par...
with being a miniature poodle size dogsend

Apartment B44 one bedroom unit
at Highland Manor low income facility
housing older folks convenient starting point,
to launch poem and invite reader(s)
reason(s) without rhyme
why yours truly (me)
chose...

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Philippines, my country of birth,
one of the countries in Southeast Asia.
It is an archipelago or group of islands,
with more than seven thousand islands.

Luzon, the largest island in the northern
part of the country, is where I...

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A proclamation was made one day, that each man return to his town of birth for 
audit. So in obedience to God, Mary and Joseph left for their long journey.  
Though she was heavy...

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Herr Heinrich Schneider and his spouse
Felt the need to wander,
And for once to leave their house
For a land that lay far yonder.

Japan at cherry-blossom time!
No better place than this
Enthralled the German couple’s mind.
The chance they...

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Christmas with Christ – Melchoir’s Story

Wondrous symbols and signs appear in the heavens,
heralding that an amazing event is about to happen…
the birth of a royal child in the town of Bethlehem,
one who will transform the...

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