Long Spares Poems

Radiance
by Michael R. Burch

for 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 but feels its meaning—
the...

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Medieval Poems



Deor's Lament (Anglo Saxon poem, circa 10th century AD)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Weland knew the agony of exile.
That indomitable smith was wracked by grief.
He endured countless troubles:
sorrows were his only companions
in his frozen...

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These are poems about Dylan Thomas, as well as poems "for" and "after" Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas was one of my favorite poets from my early teens and has remained so over the years. I...

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Myth, after Dylan Thomas
by Michael R. Burch

Here the recalcitrant wind
sighs with grievance and remorse
over fields of wayward gorse
and thistle-throttled lanes.

And she is the myth of the scythed wheat
hewn and sighing, complete,
waiting, lain in a low...

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Sweet Rose of Virtue
by William Dunbar (c. 1460-1530)
loose translation/modernization/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

after William Dunbar

Sweet rose of virtue and of gentleness,
delightful lily of youthful wantonness,
richest in bounty and in beauty clear
and in every virtue that...

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Joyce Letitia Richmond-Solomon (A servant of God and a friend to man)

Every life has its seasons and God has created each individual for a purpose. Blessed and happy are those who discover their purpose and...

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BUSHFIRE
                                  ...

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Listen
by Immanuel A. Michael (an alias of Michael R. Burch)

1.
Listen to me now
and heed my voice;
I am a madman, alone,
screaming in the wilderness,
but listen now.

Listen to me now, and if I say
that black is black
and...

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                Interview with an Angel

After a long surgery brewed in urgency,
I lie supine with the body pining with fury
With eyelids...

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The Anatomy of a Kural: Maxim Number 245 (taken at random) of the Thirukkural, the Tamil Classic on Ethics by Thiruvalluvar 

allal arulaalvaarkku illai valivalangum

mallalmaa naalam kari (K245)

“The teeming earth's vast realm, round which the...

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KING CYRUS THE GREAT

So; here comes the story of that King Cyrus the Great 
Whose history for some of us is still well up for debate

But; it’s such a darn good story, it well deserves...

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Every year our community gets together at the annual church fair. This year they have changed the format with some new events and dropping some of the old events that appeared a little dangerous. How...

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Lament for the Makaris ("Lament for the Makers/Poets")
by William Dunbar [c. 1460-1530]
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
 
i who enjoyed good health and gladness
am overwhelmed now by life’s terrible sickness
and enfeebled with infirmity ...
how the...

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I have waited for this moment to come when the moon will dialogue with the sun, I have waited for this moment to come when Joy will burst through the sky and soaked the earth...

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Continued from The Eye of the Sea part 2


The heaving swell and the waves from hell
Soon swamped our valiant vessel,
With the holds in flood: tattered sails above,
We were in the direst of peril.

In a meet...

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Fair Lady Without Peer
by Charles d’Orleans
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Fair Lady, without peer, my plea,
Is that your grace will pardon me,
Since I implore, on bended knee.
        ...

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And it came to pass, when God cause us to wander  (wonder)
Thou shall not kill
It's not it God's will
And if a man also lie with mankind 
As he lie with a woman both of...

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DRACULA AND THE DINNER GUEST

Here lie all parts of my retelling of Dracula, originally written by Bram Stoker. I have never read the book but was drawn into the synopsis that included my favorite dinner,...

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November arrives with a golden dawn; her winds sing 
a lilting song as we reflect on our blessings all winter long.
              ...

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Unseen forces like real native spirits
in red clay cliffs who show painted faces.
Singing songs echoed in faint voices:
tattered tribes, shamed souls, sacred spaces.
Hidden hurts of primitive peoples
have effects that only time erases.

Unseen forces from privileged...

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I went to observe Solat for Eid al-Adha. 
Prophet Ibrahim's supposed sacrifice- his son to Allah--
Such outstanding faith in town, 
That spares every household firstborn.  

You knew not how tempting it was. 
Oh, I’ve...

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Alexandra began to understand
why he had chosen this place for her home,
a secluded spot, sequestered away
from the madness he felt the world would know,
a place few if any people would go.
He said, “You’ll remember what...

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                                  ...

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I am a poet,
A poet in Love!
I see the whole of the universe
spun in a ball
and rolled through the mirror of deception.
The mirror cracks with violent shattering
pieces everywhere, but soon a calm silence, for a...

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When a tree is felled....!

When a tree is felled, a sad ring of deathknell,
With it goes for many - their tiny places to dwell!
How much of Earth will man's greed consume ?
Very many forms discovered...

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