Long Riverbanks Poems

These 2 different versions are separated by nine years

Part 1

MUST BE SPRING

Small speckles of wild grass 
Looking like tiny green drops 
That had fallen to the earth 
Were the very first sign 

Waving in the...

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Such Wonders Are Breathtaking To Behold

(NOT FOR CONTEST THAT INSPIRED THIS POEM)

The morning dew on red rose does glisten
As early dawning sun beams brightly down
Such beauty, bees decorate that soft gown
As Nature's music plays, creatures...

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SUMMER

-----------------------
It was one of the warmer summer days
Not a breeze or cloud in the sky
The humidity so high
I could almost reach out
And pluck it from the air

I watched the sunlight
Hitting the north side of my...

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Through April and May not a single Indian has been noticed
along all the serpentine bends of this rambunctious river,
however I feel we are being espied by a jealous warparty
immortal in it's protection of this pristine...

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I am here now
Presence my companion
Rising I put my two feet
On the ground
I give thanks as I open my eyes
To this new day
A divine delicious smile 
Trickles upward animating my mouth

How glorious to be here
At...

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When the sun hangs low
by scarlet-threaded silk, 
you'll find my soul
waltzing in the womb of woodland
like a viking warrior, 
where I'm rooted ~ 
beyond decaying diamonds, 
as life unfolds a watercolor symphony
falling from the canopy...

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Sappho Translations XIII by Michael R. Burch

In these translations the fragment numbers are mostly Lobel-Page. All translations are by Michael R. Burch and should be so credited if they are used in any way, shape...

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Siddhartha (The Buddha) 
by Hermann Hesse
translation by Michael R. Burch

In the house-shade,
by the sunlit riverbank beyond the bobbing boats,
in the Salwood forest’s deep shade,
beneath the shade of the fig tree,
that’s where Siddhartha grew up.

Siddhartha, the...

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In the deepest corners of my soul, where shadows whisper secrets to the light of existence,
A mystical and magical poem is woven, a tapestry of thoughts and emotions,
Born from the innocent spontaneity of youth and...

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In the labyrinthine depths of my soul, where shadows whisper secrets to the light of existence,
A mystical and magical poem unfolds, a river of thoughts and emotions,
Inspired by the sense that I should be following...

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Hermann Hesse English Translations

Secretly We Thirst…
by Hermann Hesse
from The Glass Bead Game
translation by Michael R. Burch

Charismatic, spiritual, with the gracefulness of arabesques,
our lives resemble fairies’ pirouettes,
spinning gently through the nothingness
to which we sacrifice our beings...

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I walked in and was hit by the familiar smell of fear and disinfectant 
then wrapped my sweater tighter from the cold and discomfort. 
I glanced fleetingly into desperate, tearful eyes
bruised egos, painful cries and...

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Early in the morning
as the sun began to rise
as the birds began to wake 
and fly into the sky
soaring high above her head
in the misty morning dew
while the rivers trickle onward
to greet the day anew.
she...

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Narrator’s View II

12 These words are the last, left by the wisest,
Whom spoke to me from the other side came,
All my thoughts were crumbled to its smallest,
To a state where it differed from the same,

13...

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Being the urban outlaw has its own rewards, especially when this vingilante-like person is helping the Marshall oficers capture the bad guys. It's just like a modern-day version of the Wild Wild West, except that...

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In a session of shower
I send two lines in whatsapp
And wait for some flowers
To bring me a bird seated on a second
If not on hours 


Why no bee yet
Is the other window now
Tired of alphabet
Or...

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The mist of the morning bathes the riverbanks, whetting my appetite for nature
I sit here letting the early morning tease my ears with the sweetest harmony, as
little angels flutter on wings, darting to and fro...

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Pike Place Market and Space Needle
race tracks out at Indy
stands Jefferson's Memorial
Nashville's Grand Ole Opry

Biking somewhere downtown Beijing (Bay-jing)
Great Wall nearby Xian (Z-on)
wow, thirty million in Chongquing (Chun-king)
pass Hong Kong on sampan (sam-pon)

St Petersburg a...

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OUR MASGOUF

The fishes have high wings, but they can feel our deep pain like sisters. Yes, we are the fishes’  brothers and any halo you may see in the dark night is a birthday...

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There’s something exceptional about country life
Taking me back to when things were so slow
Sitting under a tree coring an apple with a knife
Gazing over golden corn and counting each row

The gnats during the day would...

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On sandy beaches and along fertile riverbanks,
In fecund soil and in lush green plantations,
Coconut trees stand tall towering into the sky.
They are benevolent palms at the service of generations.

A coconut tree is a marvel of...

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Yeah, I think it's a pity I dumped her in the wilderness
Strange things often happen in life, you know
Time and again we met together, talked of common interest
Raised the same slogans (you guessed right,
both of...

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Hot and wet as heaven pion
Rainfall scattered warm clarion, dropped some their leaves
Referred to evergreen rainforest

Girl starred being black, smiled for dark spots with silver-grey eyes
Kingdom animalia said: “Where is our crown?”
Heavy logging answered

Tilar wana...

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I can see us now Luv,
pettin ponies, musing in warm moon light,
free versin in satin style, a smile born from genuine form,

Two hearts too stubborn for apologies or effigies of maybies,
sunburned by stardom, kingdom of...

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The Storm of Pain

The storm of pain is real and runs through the veins of a human vessel like a raging river on a destructive course to Love Ocean.  Debris is collateral damage collected...

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