Long Sandstorms Poems

Here We Shall Remain
by Tawfiq Zayyad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Like twenty impossibilities
in Lydda, Ramla and Galilee ...
here we shall remain.

Like brick walls braced against your chests;
lodged in your throats
like shards of glass
or prickly cactus...

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“Beloved Femme Fatale”


Musk and Neroli satin skin spoons
Naked feet ‘neath The Pillars of Petra
She towers majestic above you, colours your grey skies
You are worshipping her on your knees
What does it matter, anymore? Before your eyes,...

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A miniscule minotaur is a mini mayhem by the way. In a catacomb place ones feet in a small bowl then look in the mirror and sing to the shaft of light beaming down from...

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I was a busy archaeologist, who enjoyed interesting and fulfilling work,
And I was very intrigued, with the ancient sites where mystery lurked. 

My painstaking work caused me to travel, ofttimes to far distant lands,
As golden...

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Through storms, the sea of the bridge shivers,
Silken curves of titanium on pillars of ancient stone,
Dust gathers in my fists like onyx under veils of rusted gold,
And in the cosmic silence, my thoughts float like...

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Strong, in some ways –
Reflecting the old times, the old days,
Like a moment inspired by light,
Suggesting the beauty of a smile,
Echoing truth in every movement,
Exposing the wonder of a heart…

Who is laughing, dancing like leaves
Of...

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S p a r k s
of magic
g l i s t e n
beyond ice and fire,
as you are the balmy flare
that never dims~
amidst the rolling
ferris of fate…
Tonight… I write your name
on Hathor’s crown of the...

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A diverse array of flora and fauna reign majestic 
in vivid tawny imagery of shifting sand dunes 
and barren rocks-- sixteen miles
from the golden rays of western tomorrow.

Time is played out in crucial moments of...

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Cathedrals in tea cups. Jingle jangle playtime then. Golden slippers on a carpet of custard. Slip slide. Drip. No droop. Flavoured water is never fake. Obviously. And count the jellied eels in a bath of...

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Her tattered self in a city long ago
   a little girl lost in oceans of turmoil
 nobody had known her true identity
   the whimsical world looked at her in pity.
 She...

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I still follow
the blinking spells
of the rose wine sunsets
before surging sandstorms,
believing in the euphoric breeze
floating across the
shivering skyline,
echoing vermilion voices,
lost in the limestone grains,
as questions of change
interrogate the empathy
encrypted within
my inhibited intuition,
like spices of kismet...

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"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant
and every evil doer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set
them on fire,' says the Lord Almighty....

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Mildew mops are prevalent only in oily sandstorms. Ah, said the furry scorpion the witche's brew has collapsed causing wisdom from the inner triangular arc. When racing with ducks pay no heed to flapping as...

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A border is a line drawn in the sand
Constantly shifting if you have time to see
A personality is a borderline ebbing
Time ceaselessly flowing us away 
One side unreachable as the far shore
The other, all that...

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The electrified silence of a seal enchanted but now awakening caused acre of crevasse to jump from the dormant land. It went sploosh and the waves dived over to spring clean and cleanse any poisonous...

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Everyday i walk through the open desert called life,
crawling and stumbling trying to survive this world at night.

Protecting my eyes from the sandstorms may be hard,
but losing my grip on this thing called life is...

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In our land, there are no towering peaks,
To guide our dreams to the heights one seeks.
Even humble rocks resemble great hills,
And groves seem like forests in their thrills.

Our rivers don’t rush with a turbulent flow,
They...

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Till my words fade to lilac not
Black or maybe white doves fall 
From the blue and if I had to I
Would lie to the clouds beg them 
For shades of grey so you’d have
To let...

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It was just another story, my grandmother told
I wish I had known, what I've learned since then
How the dust from the hills swept over the plains
and how months without rain, would change everything.

Out of water,...

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Don’t mind my rough manners, brothers,  
It couldn’t be any other,  
In lands where we stand under  
The harsh sun’s blazing cover.  
Whoever steps foot here soon calms their zeal, ...

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A hierarchy of antecedents 
an inverted pyramid or
joy that precedes heart break
and well wishes 
tears that cascade after facts
and unchecked plane tickets 
sentiments divulged, rearranged, displayed 
like an Muslim at inquisition 
Scientist's solution burning 
on a Bunson burn
making sense of what...

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Till the last wave calms in sea
whether or not that you need me
Till the darkness leaves the sky
I'll always be with you nearby

Sister's angel .. hush ..don't cry


Till the sandstorms fade away
whether it's night or...

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O~n occasion, the mind accretes to, "the hurt," when facing
V~icissitudes; blinded by, "the better nature," causing to
E~fface the focus from the Architect while simultaneously
R~aising questions why. Impatience encourages the 
C~ollaboration of misery to consult with...

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In the middle of the universe, I stand
deep in my chamber of death, resurrected
with no recollection of the life before
no memories of past civilizations
          no planets,...

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He pulls 
the eiderdown 
Over his skinny 
little head 
Flashbacks in his mind 
Of a nasty video 

One which scared him 
Almost out 
of his little mind 
If only he could rewind 
Starting back 
at...

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