Long Perishes Poems

Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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Winter Awakens My Care
anonymous Middle English poem, circa 1300
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Winter awakens all my care
as leafless trees grow bare.
For now my sighs are fraught
whenever it enters my thought:
regarding this world's joy,
how everything...

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The Rhymed Poem aka The Rhyming Poem and The Riming Poem
Old English Poem (i.e., Anglo-Saxon Poem) from the Exeter Book, ca. 990 AD
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

He who granted me life created this sun
and...

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The Rhymed Poem aka The Rhyming Poem and The Riming Poem - Part II
anonymous Old English Poem from the Exeter Book, circa 990 AD
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

He who granted me life created this...

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This is my modern English translation of Paul Valéry's poem “Le cimetière marin” (“The graveyard by the sea”). Valéry was buried in the seaside cemetery evoked in his best-known poem. From the vantage of the...

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Death walks around like thief in the night looking for someone to start a fight; it knocks on every door with an AK47 rifle in its hand and a barrage of bullets in a container...

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Hope
                    —An old man and children—

Do you know why I sit here pondering?

I am not sorry...

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Early morning, slightly subdued, a drawn out yawn reflecting my mood, 

slope to the kettle, body distorted by its metallic curves, amuse myself for a 
while, infusing with herbs, 

while my head changes shapes, prepare...

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It is very impressive to go westward
in an early morning of midwinter,
because you will see a full moon 
that you have forgotten for a while
in the middle of the western sky.

[The westward moon is, perhaps,...

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15.8
“Have faith, my son, have faith
You are Awareness alone
the Self, the One
You are the Lord of Nature”

15.9
“The body is made of worldly stuff
It comes, it lingers, it goes
The Self neither comes nor goes, yet remains
Why...

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In the deep valleys of the spirit, where dreams boil in the overflowing cup of consciousness,
I wander aimlessly, seeking countless treasures not in gold, but in scattered words.
There is no money in poetry, only echoes...

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This is only the beginning i say 
as i lay stone to build a 
foundation
To rise our empire
And lift our entire nation
Turn off the world and use your 
imagination
And listen to the shadowy voice 
of...

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Immortal. The word spoken passed through on a slight breeze, a wind to splinter trees. 

A flaming light, in the distance a bird in solemn flight. 

Soaring over, down below, drove into the depths as...

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the children wait on the shore
eyes fastened to the horizon
behind them stand the women
with a gaze far more serious
all impervious to rain and wind
the hurricane had turned inland
last night it was moving north to Baja
the...

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i saw you again last night, 
in the dream of a december lullaby,
free from the life you once knew
i’ll never know why-
           you chose to...

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BEAUTY IN ASHES

Do we have sweetness in bitterness?
Hold my falling words and get abundant life
For the life we now live is vanity upon vanity.
Man is born and tomorrow he becomes a dust
Like the rat and...

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I Guess I Woke Up Too Soon!

The train was coming after me again.
I, a helpless little girl, the evil train tracked.
Like so many times before, the distant sounds warned.
Chugga, shugga, chugga, whoo whoooooo!
Off the rails...

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Looking back
It is beauty that is carved into
Every moment of our lives
Every moment of our near deaths,
Every moment of our death.

A song reached out to me
In my winter bed,
A simple song of simple love.
Transcending me...

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How long shall I be in babylon and sing a song of hope and weariness?
Whence my heart perishes in servitude,
I have been debased to infra dig in a vast land we call our own.

They seek...

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The boy's eyes were like his mother's,
His persona was as cool as his father's,
He was lucky enough to conquer the killing spell,
That daunting night that eventually was his personal hell.

Swathed by Hagrid, the "little tyke"...

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What can my lips say when thought falls silent?
Strings of disconnected thoughts run over my forehead,
Night gathers within me, it's later than I believe,
And each idea, a frailty, they are all strange and unexpected.
I confess,...

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Mimshak*
by
Rick Folker

As the Lord lives, it must be the Lord himself who will strike him, whether the time comes for him to die, or he goes out and perishes in battle. But the Lord forbid...

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I see, I hear, I feel
him in his sorrow. 

My heart 
sees, the pain
he tries to hide, 
behind the smile.

My heart
hears, the anguish
in his voice,
as he speaks.

My heart
feels, the heartache
he suffers,
with his loss.

The love that...

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THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST

What does it mean
to be good? Smile,
serve and love, but
what does it mean
when under your skin
it is raw and meaningless?
Do you hand out benefits…
do they say
“You're as good as gold?”
Do...

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Paciolo Pen Saint ft Abisola _ writes


(1)

When will the misery end?
When will the suffering of centuries be relieved?
The face of the world is miserable,
Days are spent in grief and despair,
Years are drenched under bitter shade,
Where...

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