Long Plaited Poems

Once upon a weedy lawn
At Cedar Oaks Retirement Home
There sat my mother, weak and old
On an afghan knit to block the cold.

It was summer, but in mom's grey eyes
Was winter, when all around us dies.
I...

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A GLIMPSE OF HERITAGE

To Visit the past, is to understand your future.

The storm was moving away, the noise no longer pounding,
Sky turned blue from dark, thunder abating, hail disappearing,
I took refuge under a bridge during...

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Part One

                 Still the din dashes about in his dreams
now louder in the spacedout quiet:
an occasional auto-rickshaw backfiring revving
spluttering...

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tight thoughts toil,
as threads in head uncoil
ideas plaited, intent's tug
escort through dilate pupils.
umbrella lashes shady look
was all it took-
inception outspooked
at artful spirit's raid, 
inkling's snapline birth
twine in tensile mind, 
sprinkling notion's seeds.
Small things become divine.

...

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The day drew near.......... 
Upon the wind, 
so light and fair 
Flowers falling through the air 

The South Wind Prince, 
came to Castle Heartstone 
Wearing a crown.......... 
Shining like the sun 
Gold and bright 
The...

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The day drew near.......... 
Upon the wind, 
so light and fair 
Flowers falling through the air 

The South Wind Prince, 
came to Castle Heartstone 
Wearing a crown.......... 
Shining like the sun 
Gold and bright 
The...

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Sappho Translations VIII by Michael R. Burch


Sappho, fragment 68
translation by Michael R. Burch

That was then, this is now!
In those days my maidenhead was in full bloom,
then you …


Sappho, fragment 135
translation by Michael R. Burch

Golden Persuasion,...

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Murmur no things
or strings of sounds...
Could not care less
more-ish whispers
were Wicked
Whips of Words-
Weighted.
Tongue- lashing sharp
fork- tine Torture.
Cat-0-nine-one-one-tales...
Thirty-nine...
Forty-less-one
thrashing...
thrashing...
Thrashing...!
                  ...

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my beauty is the talk of the town, the envy of all the

town’s women. it must be so because every time i walk

down the streets, i see the women steal glances at me

and begin to...

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Who is he who skips the mountains crest
and in the forest takes his play
who wanders flowering meadows blest
and paints her majestic peaks by day
 
Who roars like a bear emerging from his den
rises from the...

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the influences of days gone by
we refferred to her as an Old Woman
she was only 26 but she used
the way someone else to
express her concern
him he didn't learn much because
he refused to understand those
teaching due...

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[Continued from Part Three]



Thereupon the elder gave them all a single cart.
It was tall and broad with gems adorning every part
and had bells on all four corners plus a balustrade
surrounding, with a hanging awning offering...

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how beautiful is your beloved,
 the one adored of your heart, 
when she has returned from the meadow!
my beloved, my darling,
my heart longs to you love
for that is all that you created!
I say to you:
See...

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Written: January 19, 2024
                ______________________________________

Love swells as a glossy plum
Love is a heavenly amethyst duet
Lambent love, a luscious lake of...

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Aeolus God and Ruler of the Wind
Summoned Aura and surveying her grinned

Then proceeded to whisper in her ear
Brought shocked expression, a falling tear

"Please do not pursue the Aurai nymphs"
Whose replicas were on all column plinths

Aeolus...

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Time in shadows slips away
Like the sun to dusky grave
And there I find the vivid past
When sun in shadow melts at last
No shades of ardent grey
No stars to wipe the dark away
But time I know...

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The briny tears have dried
The sounding knells are stilled
The grieving crowd, dispersed
The parting pain, allayed 	

Benumbed lie the dead
Beneath the marble vaults
Bereft of power and prowess
Benighted and beaten.

The sun shall never cast its glorious rays
The...

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"To her, whose beauty eludes the charms of words"


I sat with her as she worked, trying to scribble some words on an innocent paper
The looks on her face captivated me, as the tip of her...

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Chaste and more graceful
Than the white canvassed Dhow:
Reclines sweet Nefertiti 
Upon a Blue Nile breeze.
Fabled entity more whiter
Than the purest white snow
That thickly blankets
And folds over the wide Pyrenees.

Dipped is thy beak 
Into a harvesters...

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Children in the village are filled with joy  
Waiting patiently for the grand parade  
Each one has a task every girl and boy  
Sandwiches prepared and tables are laid  
Laden with...

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"How sweet to the heart are the scenes of my childhood"
                        Samuel...

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Miss Garner, Miss Garner. I HATE your Gymkhana,
I loathe every second it's run.
I dread all those horses and obstacle courses,
and everyone else having fun.

Now Mummy is frantic, the panic gigantic;
my pony won't go in the...

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Tandem Toys Come Alive at Light


~~a fairy tale about Bobby Brown Hair, sleepy head
Tattered plaited grandmas made bed spread
Temptress grungy even made bear teddy out of black button eyes white plush cotton nose
Insides filled with...

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When we think of you our faces light up
Memories flood through us of happiness
Snuggling against you, listening to you breathe
Our hearts beating gently in time

Your lap is warm from little bottoms
Your arms strong and safe...

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Emilia sits all alone and she reminisces
Of sweet romance and gentle kisses
She misses her husband; he’s away at war
Still she longs for him to be with her once more  

Tears well up in her...

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