Long Tenderly Poems

Poems about Mothers


Mother's Smile
by Michael R. Burch

There never was a fonder smile
than mother's smile, no softer touch
than mother's touch. So sleep awhile
and know she loves you more than "much."

So more than "much, " much more...

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These are translations of some of the oldest Japanese waka, which evolved into tanka, renga and haiku. 

While you decline to cry,
high on the mountainside
a single stalk of plumegrass wilts.
—O no Yasumaro (circa 711), translation...

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Grasses wilt:
the braking locomotive
grinds to a halt
—Yamaguchi Seishi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, translation by Michael R. Burch

The first soft snow:
leaves of the awed jonquil
bow...

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With my Uyghur poetry translations I am trying to build awareness of the plight of Uyghur poets who are being sent to Chinese "reeducation" concentration camps.

Elegy
by Perhat Tursun
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Asylum seekers, will...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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Lumi's hand pressed upon his shoulder in a surprisingly firm grip guiding him into the dining area and to the second of two long slender tables where sat five older elves including DynDoeth.
  ...

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Date: December 2040

Damian is on the phone speaking 
With architects.  He made
Airline and hotel reservations.
 Soon Afterwards he went 
To Molly and caressed her away from
From a sweet dream. "Hey, baby girl."
He sat on...

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I have a little story to tell you ... it's absolutely true, of course, at least as far as I'm concerned, but you can take it as you wish - as a tale, a fact,...

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Says Csikszentmihalyi,
"Social scientists
(Abraham Maslow, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jane Loevinger, [Ken Wilber, Edward Podvoll, Julian Jaynes, Jack Kornfield, Richard Dawkins, Clare Graves, Carl Jung] and James Fowler)
describe a dialectical motion
between [Yang-ego-form] differentiation
and [Yin-eco-logical function] integration,
between turning attention...

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** I apologize, but if you're viewing this on a phone, it probably wont look right, as the browser page on a phone is not wide enough to indent the right edge properly. It was...

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Know Thyself
(one of the two Delphic commands of Apollo)



For years before the narrow windows of my senses
                  ...

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Feel more than free to take a quick tour into my mind's eye
Then, you'll find that you're on my mind and I don't know why 

Dare to wonder Where to wander
Dare to wonder What I...

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For years before the narrow windows of my senses
                          ...

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Date:  August   2051

"Holannya's  new born baby girls!"
Dolly exclaimed 7  Friday morning.
Molly watched Holly sleep saying,
"Yeah finally and everybody's joyful right?"
Dolly replied, "Yesss so we'll continue 
With party preparations properly after
We...

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Sings the story at twilight 
When the moon is just rising, 
Sings a simple troubadour 
The short tale of life. 

How a fine boy, 
Born in a palace, 
A palace like crystal, 
Became a proud...

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Men ...
  Giving advice to OTHER men, on women
    That's funny ... ironic "funny", I mean, (though I did chuckle)
      As if ANY man ever had...

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1
Though still within our infancy, 
we strive to thrive, but woefully 
we flash and flaunt our 'primacy',
display our trophies pridefully.
 
Our terra firma ecstasy
destroys survival's harmony,
lays waste to life on land and sea.
Mankind, thy name...

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The Sandless Sand Castle

Let me tell you about my eldest brother.

I am: the "Scram!", the "Beat it!", the "What you looking at?!", and the "Turn around and watch the movie!", younger brother. As you can...

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It was in the early days of our lives
We met
She was so beautiful 
My eyes could not stop admiring
My heart kept racing 
Every time it sensed
her good-looking approaching
But we were too young 
To give full...

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"Years” and “Distance”, phantoms of the dark that do their evil
in the quietude of the everyday, coming and going without so
much as a footprint or a whisper, and taking the most valuable
possessions of the heart,...

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And on the seventh day, God descended from the brilliant abyss called heaven. He wanted to rest, but He had to view what He had created so He could memorize His good works. 
 ...

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                                Precious Moments

 ...

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So it was that the night transcended peacefully over my head
Taking me through thick clouds,landing me upon parched land
Spilling  tranquil moments into daylight complexity.
So it was that I found myself among a crowd of...

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~ Morning Wheat ~ (A Pros Poetry Works) ~


~  ~
  ~ ~
    ""Grace,
    faith
      ~~
       ...

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March 18-27

This time I woke, 
He was staring readily,
Smiling, plotting steadily

I lifted my body and gently gazed at his grotesque beauty
He was always at his best in thought…

“You look ravishing…” He began. 
“Mouth-parched, crusty-eyed, hair...

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