Long Vainglory Poems

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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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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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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the ministry of the dance is always Scripture based
it's all about bringing the Holy Spirit into the place
the ministry of the dance has a purpose that is two-fold
of Godly deliverance and breaking demonic strongholds
to deliver...

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In regard to human's such abject abyss and absurdity, we can't help questioning: can human still be indulgent in the virulent vainglory having shaped their pretentious and dangerous preconception of a human-centered and human-dominated cosmos?...

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Voluntary unconditional surrender woke...,

Viz hitting yours truly,
when yokel egghead doth jinx
whereby ye cannot comprehend figurative
wimpy vainglory, unequivocally, tectonically,
smoldering resentments I stoke,

he doth bare his soul no joke,
no matter insight doth severely challenge
cyber surfing passersby, who...

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My Interpretation:                             Glenn Hughes Lyric:

In the space...

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The armies they are massing:
They line and ring every shore, every strand bristling with 
The deadliest of weapons;
The tocsin should be sounded, 
And every cannon is round at its bore.
Fires rage unchecked and unopposed throughout the 
Entire world,...

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The hour matters none ... for the energies have exhausted.
In the year of our Lord ... nineteen hundred and twelve, April fifteenth.
Writes a future living star ... wish their joys so he may shine.

'Tis to...

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Like ‘Nevermore’ sketched into water by Salvador Dali
Quickly running a message up a high mast in Mali
Or Michaelangelo his genius wild, cutting a lady less forlorn
With a savior already finished with work and free from...

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6. 
i am to be blown off on the first bombardment 
then it is to be flown 
in the crowd of  fire-flies 
on the bushes of the scented-lemons 

and it is to see the...

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Unrhymed tercets

The Withdrawing Room

Huddled together in this abstemious grey chamber
no windows or means of escape walls closing in
trapped where the un-sanctified transactions are made 


Daunting without exit the silent screams go unheard 
ashen skin with...

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Huddled together in this abstemious grey chamber
no windows or means of escape walls closing in
trapped where the un-sanctified transactions are made 


Daunting without exit the silent screams go unheard 
ashen skin with darting eyes never...

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What eyes see is not true, for 
Spotlight of time flashed me as meteor's shimmering 
But my false machines made it aeons vibrating 
\What eyes see is not true for 
The life that wore cloth...

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A man acquainted with sorrows and grief
be it then was bruised for our relief
the ones  ruling over them kept them in pain
but struck was he so we might Life regain
 
All like sheep have...

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On the precipice it stands,
loose-limbed with a sinewy grace,
body taut with an implied swagger,
face, grinning, a sun-dappled gold. 
Unclouded by the cataract of cynicism, 
its eyes survey a horizon heat-hazed with 
a thousand promises. 

As...

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Inscrutable torrents of history shall crush
   him who ignores the lessons in his greedy rush,
      his rabid obsession to subjugate others
       ...

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When I write poetry, with my passion elated,
lines flow in full spate, with words unabated!
Inspiring my mind, an essential necessity
oft results in a poem, that is pleasing to me!

When I’m frustrated, know not what to...

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Time is a coverlet 
of secrets not to be withheld, 
but dressed for the revealing, 
just as humankind sits down
among the gods partaking
of the succulence of truth,
and no priority may interfere
with that vainglory of the...

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Fanatical Clerics feed religious fervour,
by rousing fanatics to kill - as an observer
can see almost daily on the TV today.
No thought given to victims, who they
regard as inconsequential in their quest
to become martyrs.  When...

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He knew a world of lesser life,
"miles from here and everywhere," he'd often quip.
He sat in a swing hung from chains, soaking up nature
after the fence mending and baling of hay was done.
Time to untangle...

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What with vainglory, vanity’s wan pride, 
I once asked my ego what makes it go: 
He said: I’m not on a vainglorious ride, 
Nor does hollow arrogance make me blow, 
Vanity’s just the vehicle for...

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Seductions of Sin

With the lusts of the world: 
do I thee; threaten more?
Is this what the world has to offer; 
since its originated defiance? 

That set the scene for this world; 
to attest and set...

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Gifting dreams of hope to my eyes, he vanished in a flash
Carting away the treasure of sorrows, leaving mirage a trash

Thorns of grief were, in all, the earning on whose part
Left a delightful rose in...

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Behold, behold the Onion king
His soul has a pungent fragrance
Unbidden tears his presence bring
He's the king of heartbreak romance

I caution you not to peel away the layers
of his life of vainglory conquests
An empty stench of...

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