Long Retched Poems

State of the Art (II)

These are my "ars poetica" poems about the art and craft of writing poetry. 



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer 
~~~~underwater~~~~
watching the shoreline...

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Turkish Poetry Translations II

Çanakkale Sehitlerine
"For the Çanakkale Martyrs"
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Was there ever anything like the Bosphorus war??
The earth’s mightiest armies pressing Marmara,
Forcing entry between her mountain passes
To a...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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Mehmet Akif Ersoy: Modern English Translations of Turkish Poems

Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873-1936) was a Turkish poet, author, writer, academic, member of parliament, and the composer of the Turkish National Anthem.



Snapshot
by Mehmet Akif Ersoy
loose English translation/interpretation...

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OOOniversal oo

Frightened tepid antisocial ant was football training avidly but failing to attend a fragrant tailor army. Oh dear. That was sure to be put forward to the sacred sanction ship and the sacred sanction...

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It was a party like most, I guess
And not a “fun” one, I must confess
But our hostess I adored
And I just couldn’t say: “I’m bored”,

So, I milled around, and said “Hello”
And tried to fake a...

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As a country boy, up in the hills,
Life was tough, not much for frills.
I remember it well, yes, even now,
When spring time came and it was time to plow.
Afore sun up came, I was out...

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A country church nestled in a peaceful valley,
Against a glorious backdrop of tall mountains,
That were fashioned before Eden’s retched  malady,
That beset the human soul and rich surroundings.

Beautiful dog-wood trees with blossoms snowy white,
Bounded by...

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Poems about Poets

Elemental
by Michael R. Burch

for and after Dylan Thomas

The poet delves earth’s detritus—hard toil—
for raw-edged nouns, barbed verbs, vowels’ lush bouquet;
each syllable his pen excretes—dense soil,
dark images impacted, rooted clay.

The poet sees the sea...

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Murk Rammer froze as he felt the nuzzle
of a snub-nosed thirty-eight’s deadly muzzle.
Louis The Retch poked it into his back.
“The jig’s up, Rammer. I ain’t cuttin’ no slack.”

Murk had been tricked by a double-crossing dame,
alias...

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Oh Spirit of Love; lost ... far, and apart; away from any abundant freedom, 
genuinely aeolian, without-You, soiled, sick, dying-naked cold alone-lost, this is all 
of me broken of-heart; everything I can-give, here I am, please, pick-me-up 
embrace me carry me onward upon this awakening.

 
Gentle lullaby of truth so divine my Sweet Phonation of Grace Faithful Father,
Keeper of all Your Words Holy; e'er, Regal, Valiant; Just ... . Brilliant Morning-
Sunshine excuse-Yourself as judge in view of my-irreverence complete; (blind) ... 
uphold me in this hope; welcome me in Your warmth move me along further than-
ever-alone, could I.

 
Befriend me shower-Your-light, all the way-down, into the barren; valley ... 
of-my-soul. Wash-me relieve me of my retched self, that I may begin ... 
(for You only to live).

 
(Yes Lover, of my life (clothe-me)) cover me moreover in this certainty))), 
find me well within Your mercy illuminated high, upon the beauty; of Your gape.

 
So ... that being-restored, entire, delivered (in all my joy secured there in 
Peace through You for the remainder of my days, here ... and beyond); 
I know it will be then; for me, when received, in true liberty ... Your 
perfect comfort (my soul ... may eternally abide-with-You, 

in rest).
 
and as I Ponder-
anything-acquired-monetarily, 
is but momentary ... . ~

~ In surrendering everything of oneself 
to The-Almighty, the-certain-peace-and-
joy; the-liberty attained thereafter; 

is-a gift; everlasting ... ! ~ 
 
 
 ~ So when to ponder this life and my position, 
and my importance and priority amid the essence of life, 
the vision. A broader idea one in nature to picture and open and one...

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I awoke a bit firghtened
My senses were heightened
I had heard a soft whirring sound,
As my eyes opened,
I thought I saw three silvery Quarters
Fly out of my bedroom door...

My head felt stung,
My mind seemed full of...

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†††††††††THE UNFORGIVABLE VOYAGE††††††††
Tears trickled through my face
As our vessel threshed the deep.
Seagulls flapped their wings on
The beach as I watched them 
Disappear before my sight.
I wished to belong to their 
Colony if that meant staying...

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“Is this place Hell” a prisoner asked his first day there; 
No, just a stop along the way. 
Andersonville Prison, 1864. Hell Upon Earth.

The hounds of hell waited for those stranded in battle by 
canon...

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We'd opened ourselves up to fascist beliefs 
we'd catered to the raw findings of mental angst 
an yet we knew going under cover would somehow 
lead to sudden death threats corruption beyond belief 

ill gotten...

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It was her kitchen, her family, and my newly-married man, and I aimed to please her by properly being fed. 
With a smile and a swish, “We have butterscotch pudding pie for dessert!” My brand...

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As I lay in  full moons glow
Pining for sunrise too take it’s turn
I’m trapped in the body of a person I don’t know
and with every breath I take it burns 

My temporary happiness fueled...

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Sitting here at five in the morning, most everyone is still asleep except for the sad, 
lonely and the retched. Suddenly I hear voices and as i step out to investigate i hear 
the sound...

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My dear, my love
My one from above
Ill only love you
But now, we have to be through
I know I said I would never hurt you
And I don’t want to, but this I must do
You said you...

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braising thoughts arose as my lifeless 
body huddled in a fetal position i' d completed 
thirty hail mary's an yet my macerated flesh 
lay still as the sun began
to settle embedding itself almost oh how...

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It Slithered
By Linda Hays-Gibbs

Darkness caressed it. I heard it before 
I saw a piece of it, a bit?
Black & shinny
But so, so cold
It froze the air 
my thoughts said it Exquisitely tiny but
It was unafraid,...

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Some bootleg beer that only came in kegs
during the twenties made me think of you.
Like an old IPA, filled with hops, that I 
just had to drink because it was all there
was.

Some intellectual fever. 
It...

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the silence almost too heavy for my woozy body.
outside, kissing a cigarette, "goodnight",
i scuffled through the neighborhood. it was so quiet.
once i stopped moving, stopped thinking, stopped feeling...
i noticed the loudest noise.
climbing through my ears,...

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sylvia
was it really you
those last weeks of your life?

from the first wide-eyed disbelieving horror
at the ice-killer in your womb

but you were still strong then,
strong sylvia, shouting, your blonde hair swinging,
throwing pillows at the nurses
when they...

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A week before the Armistice, you died.
They did not keep your heart like Livingstone’s,
then plant your bones near Shakespeare’s. So you lie
between two privates, sacrificed like Christ
to politics, your poetry unknown
except for that brief flurry’s:...

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