Long Tangles Poems

To a Daughter More Precious than Gems
by Otomo no Sakanoue no Iratsume
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Heaven's cold dew has fallen—
and thus another season arrives.
Oh, my child living so far away,
do you pine for me...

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“There,” Lumi said suddenly and Joulupukki looked through the trees, seeing a small house. 
     “Wait here said Joulupukki, I'll be right back.”
He made his way to the house and called...

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My TransITion began there
right there
in my woodland playground,
when I first knew
something right feels wrong to others.

I was blind to curve-balls
hurled at me.
Being "It" is not why I grow
this TransIt mind and body!

Or, is it?

Could I...

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thermometer reads zero, a chilly breeze blows
  apple cores thrown, the blackbirds feed
  my multi-layered partner dons her wooly hat
  impatiently, she waits for me
  securing covid masks amidst my overcoat
...

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I believe SuperEgo bicameral comprehension
functions, forms, and flows organic
ecotherapeutic integrity;
I believe balanced Left-Right consciousness
orbits toward ecstatic psychology.

I've got nothin' to say
And I'm gonna keep it just that way
'til my mean old SuperEgo
lets me go outside...

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Renee Vivien Translations


Song
by Renée Vivien
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

When the moon weeps,
illuminating flowers on the graves of the faithful,
my memories creep
back to you, wrapped in flightless wings.

It's getting late; soon we will sleep
(your eyes...

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The Sun begins to rise as I lay here in bed, 
Listening as these questions repeat in my head. 
I know I should be sleeping 
But I choose to listen instead. 
Searching for an answer,...

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In glamor-light of sunset
a new crowd of cumulus clouds arrive
and revive a sepia sky-scene—
unworldly woolgatherers gather
spinning fantasy fluff into quixotic yarns
of debutantes dancing with honeymoon hunger;
their dewy eyes blurred by the sawdust of stardust

pseudo-princess-pleasure-seekers
—drama daring...

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When I stepped in here
I caught the unsymmetrical patterns on the wall,
The dark maroon contrasting curtains,
An open cupboard and 
A thick layer of dust on the broken mirror
The floor, the surrounding 
A damp room with...

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My hair has always 
had a mind of its own
Stays doing whatever
it wants whenever 
it pleases
Just never bothers to do 
any of it, at my convenience
Will take its sweet time 
to grow 
When I'm most...

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A fierce wind howls as dark clouds race across the horizon,
     and beneath the hood draped over his face the man whispers;
Of a vast land with wild clear waters, of streaking...

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Alpha

To live beyond death
we must know life beyond honor and disgrace.

Not "must" in the injunctive sense of "thou shalt"
but a more dusty must of logical integrity.

Midway

Those who know do not speak
beyond communication as active listening.
Those...

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A fierce wind howls, and dark clouds race across the horizon,
   and beneath a hood draped over his face, a man whispers;
of a vast land with wild waters, of streaking sunrises and sunsets,
...

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"Before the party begins,"
said the Permaculturist to her pupils,
Yang on the Left,
Yin twins on Right,
processing nondually,
"a brief reminder.
of how to enter a room with appropriate balance."

"This Party Door to life is not hinged for the...

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A fierce wind howls, and dark clouds race across the horizon,
   and beneath a hood draped over his face, a man whispers;
of a vast land with wild waters, of streaking sunrises and sunsets,
...

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A fierce wind howls as dark clouds race across the horizon,
     and beneath the hood draped over his face the man thinks;
of a vast land with wild clear waters, of streaking...

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I was a celebrated, professional psychic, offering glimpses of rosy future;
And helping people work through problems, like pink moon, come sooner.

I had learnt to talk with the spirits, and also relate what they were saying,
To...

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A is for angst, the lacerating emotion you spark inside my guts when I think of you…
B is for Bingo…boy did I win at that game…
C is for cherish, those precious moments you and I...

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Wherever I roam, 
God is always there, watching over me with loving eyes
Whenever I arrive home, 
He is abiding by my side, waiting for me to pray to Him… 

He wants to hear my prayers…my...

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I dance with the dreams of FatherSun;
I dream to the dance of EarthMothers.

Spiritual practice shapes natural rites and flow of day,
Creative listening intent shapes liturgical flow and function of night,
invested with Elders emerging 
from DNA's...

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A Polite Warning. The Following poem is somewhat steamy. Not explicit, but explicit in
inference. If this sort of thing offends you, then please be considerate and don’t read
it. Thank you. 

Naked Flamenco

( A sultry summer...

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She came upon me in a dream deep down from within my destination

Which coursed the mind and soul of years for my memories' inspiration

The path was crowded with bouncing hooves and wagons decorated

With fantasies ornaments...

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When do mistakes happen? 
What makes a miracle real?
Who decides what value is worth? who thought of us? who painted the canvass of hills that decorate the evening sky the very same horizon that gives...

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A fierce wind howls, and dark clouds race across the horizon,
   and beneath a hood draped over his face, a man whispers;
of a vast land with wild waters, of streaking sunrises and sunsets,
...

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I pored through the scrapbook pages, my mind flooded with childhood memories of Mother. I remember the summer she and I picked plums off the trees in our backyard and made plum jelly. I remember...

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