Long Strives Poems

MICHELANGELO: Modern English Translations

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is considered by many experts to be the greatest artist and sculptor of all time. These are modern English translations of his poems and epigrams by Michael R. Burch.



SONNET:...

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Thank God, for people of order 
That disciplined, hold in people like myself.

We men, who enjoy strange living so…

In such outrageous outposts
Tempting a varied life… 

As well as early imprintings so…
Weren’t we told to be...

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THE PERSPECTIVE OF ALABASTER SCROOGE

In modern English people time, when the world was full of eminent joy, there lived a man of prestige who was totally the opposite of anyone who strives to form the...

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Considering how many times I set out to pen a small,
Master piece of art, a gem that might underwrite,
The utter liability of being just that stamp,
Or tramp, or whatever other denomination one might reliably take...

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In this life of what's to be,
we define life as what we see.
The thoughts of love and life we see,
are the driving force of what we believe.

Of the twins alive in me,
one is blind and...

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Within my quasi moat toad lily padded immediate environs

Meaning the corporeal complex edifice
housing these lovely bones, 
where linkedin logorrhea ably
strives to break out 
in meaningless song 
yobble hum hum diddle dee dee
and dance courtesy 
an...

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(continued previous part 1)

The duke then: “Tell now: of others indeed
Some Latin among sinners do you know 
Behind pitch?”. And he “I  had to secede,

It’s not much, from one who near had to stow.
I...

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III

Brahma thence forged a form— a female-head, 
Born of impending need, a weird form—
Black as born of darkness, tongue and mouth red, 
Eyes burning yellow, like a raging storm.

Uncertain she stood facing what was South,...

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Is it time again
Is this another day again
where I sit up once more
waste my fingers to the bone
to describe my grievance with the Sorceress
named Sarah...
No...not this time
Is it time again
is this another day when
I sit...

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I was a diligent safety engineer, modifying the hazardous work practices,
Like the thrilling festive celebrations, when you open up pretty packages!

I took my work very seriously, and my motto had long been safety first,
Like waiting...

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There is a saying that is well known, and If I said the first few words you could recite the next 10. STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES, BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HARM ME....

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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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An anticlimactic sexual event...

with Barb Black née Beebee
to help set the ghost
of little Willy Brandt free
(a non German, but germane fellow  
courtesy Craigslist classified
personals of mine invitee
she replied, I took liberty
to Google her first...

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To Kill a Mockingbird is both a young girl’s coming-of-age story and a more nebulous production about the reasons and consequences of bigotry and discrimination, examining how good and evil can coexist within a particular...

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There are three little words on tiny stones strewn along the floor
of a never-ending stream which runs through a misty moor.
A marvelous moor of uncertainty where mysteriously all are led
to cross a flowing water all...

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 chaos seeks an impression
this paved means to extend 
leading to the latest of bitter ends 
the intent of happenstance
suits my pen
down to the motives 

compromise strives for a process
the page in my view
staring back...

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Through the hushed whisper of the breeze
Flowing through the majestic circling pine trees
I sense that I have stepped
Into a sacred hallowed space

A GARDEN OF ROSES

A heady perfume hits the senses
Euphoric, Exhilarating, Enticing, Ethereal comes to...

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In Ouachita's tales, where pine needles sigh.
I trace the mountains' ancient, weathered crown.
Silvered river forgotten secrets float by
And fills my heart, a sonorous chamber now.

A flame ignites, dispelling shadows deep,
A beacon for lost souls on...

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My time on the shore
Along the edge of the shore there are no footprints
nor are there bits of driftwood from lost voyages
just the dunes behind and the horizon bedding down
It’s been this way now since...

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I'm not crazy about political poetry
Because politics feel a bit ... soiled to me
But as a requirement for the contest
I will say the following, as a humble opinion ONLY ...

I do not know the man
I...

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Spirit’s Journey 
I’m sailing on the sea upon a sunbeam; 
I’m hovering on a cloud that’s made of snow; 
I’m flying on an asteroid round the planets; 
The universe is guiding spirit’s flow. 
 
I’m...

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Along the edge of the shore there are no footprints
nor are there bits of driftwood from lost voyages
just the dunes behind and the horizon bedding down
It’s been this way now since I first set my...

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When one makes viable peace 
Between erstwhile colonial whites 
And erstwhile colonized blacks 
To the advantage of the whites
We urge for a Nobel Peace Prize
Such was the case in South Africa. 

‘It is all for...

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Hair gets grey, withers he but seldom wise 
To know why nothing thrills him more than lies, 
Why man’s pen portrays obscure truths in grey, 
Why his mind’s chisel carves out misty clout 
So grotesque...

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That moment, when you realize its time.
Time to eventually climb, those golden stairs.
Preparing your thoughts, your mind, body and soul, through the layers
Layers of fear, layers of all things that placed you onto your knees.
With...

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