Long Prizes Poems

Damian Stood with the front 
Door opened and said,  "Family! 
We will be leaving in fifteen 
Minutes. Do whatever you have
To before we hit the road. Use
The bathroom whatever! 
Come on!! HAKIM!! About 7
minutes...

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Fadwa Tuqan has been called the Grand Dame of Palestinian letters and The Poet of Palestine. These are my translations of Fadwa Tuqan poems originally written in Arabic.



Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by...

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English translations of Arabic poems by Fadwa Tuqan aka "The Poet of Palestine"

Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Enough for me to lie in the earth,
to be buried in her,
to sink...

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I shall resolve to leave this
Place now...
And steadfastly search out,
Nestling between ridge and bluff
Amidst the folds of a foreign 
Land,
Several acres of unkempt ground
Fallow and rough;
Upon which stands...
Crumbled stone walls
With an exposed slate roof in
Some...

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Prizes for Ultimate Sacrifices


    prizes for the abstemious  for abstinence  chastity ?
                 the countless...

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The Spaniel

A Spaniel that uses its head 
Can tell when its owner’s unfed 
So instead of a duck
That is down on its luck 
Will deliver a pizza instead
 
The Afghan Hound

The Afghan’s a dog groomer’s...

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Hannah, I haven't seen or heard you cry
not in the gray of winter day
or in the cold silence of our prisoner nights,
the others can hardly keep up with you on the marches
your face is changeless...

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A little girl lost her home this year, for her, Christmas wouldn't be there.
Her family was angry from all the troubles, they simply couldn't repair.
Don’t bother us about presents her parents said, they were depressed...

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I was born fifty years ago on April 10th 1964
Looking back through the years I began to explore

My mama said when it was time for me to be born
I decided to come early and fast...

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My father died prematurely while away on 
a business trip from a rogue blood clot to the heart  
I never doubted he loved me, would have liked me, 
(not the same thing), adult to...

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Godot has arrived
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Alive and well thanks!

...said the haiku poster
Crudely pasted to the fence
Who was too busy selling stolen goods
To notice he was a notice
Announcing a brand new play
A fusion of two classics

Waiting for...

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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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Epulaeryu Mango Poetry Season

Greetings my dear brothers and sister of God's inspirational grace, and I pray each of you will defeat Covid-19 and its elusive Delta and Omicron variants, and live a most gracious life...

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Letter to a novice poet:

(What modern poetry is for me)

Welcome to the family of budding poets, who pen passion and
meaning or anything life holds for them. Enjoy. Buds will sprout
and blossom over time. No buts...

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Simulations and Symphonies

Discussing life inside a simulation
Amalgamating strife with signs of humiliation
Confronting life with positive configurations
An enchanting wife that doesn’t need invitations

Caring for what others naturally overlook
A watchful parent, a well written book 
Beauty that...

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Opening Day with a Little Delay

Take me out to the ball game
 Of balls and strikes - bloopers and perfect games; 
 Basket catches, ERA’S, country hardball;
 Foul balls, the pick off, intentional walk, the...

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IF EVER I HAD A COUNTRY: LXXIX -  Bang! Bang! Who Shot Me Down like an Un-licensed Dog !

IF ever I had a country, a country certainly 
not subject to the whistle of a...

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          Corpus

                     in words 
designs 
...

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Horn Combined Not Maligned Haiku

Cat is not a pain
Over house has a free rein
Which is domain.

I did discover,
To interrupt is corrupt;
Always done abrupt.

Is agitator
Also manipulator;
Even a traitor.

Between is schism;
Nationalist populism;
Read in catechism.

Was on Morning show...

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Chapter 3: College Preparation

My freshman year started quite smooth
Touch football broke my leg
My luck we had a tennis coach,
That brought things down a peg!

My algebra was like a dream,
Played tennis, found it fun,
And Science Fairs...

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Dedicated to Valerie Haper, actress and John Denver, singer!
Who were just wo, of hundreds who launched  the Hunger Project,
In 1976!
Original title was a Salute to Valerie Haper. But it was not
adequate. It was more...

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Two roads diverged in a mellow wood.
Rugged paths and uphill roads further ahead.
Dimly or half-hidden, like the wood itself.
Try to glimpse ahead.
But it is beyond disappearing eyes.
Part of my earthly tests.
Part of the riddle:
'Wherever I...

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How often the old dog had heard that said, at the end of a good walk?  ‘ OK we’ve had fun now it’s time to go back home and get some work done’ ,...

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The writer in me wants you to know that, 
I was an avid reader before I was a writer... 
As early as six, I became obsessed with reading…
any book - from aunt’s classic literature to mom’s favourite...

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Dear Sarah Pullen,

If you are black or brown and male,
they do not discriminate against
you in the fields of the entertainment
industry nor in the realm of sports

If you are female in the game of
sports and compete,
transgender...

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