#afar
killing a butterfly
is easier from far away
colors meshed into brown
is just another cockroach
Aug 31, 2021
Aug 31, 2021 at 5:55 AM UTC
DEAR PENPAL PEOPLE, I stopped for a glare--then regretted the unfair:)
up on high
still feels they glide
inflicted on the mind
no fear no mercy in the blinding neon stinging light
already alone summoned my end
no upon that seat I nursed I wish to bend
look for far in the eyes that chaotic that ray
a crowd I leave in its uneven may
on my finger tip
a better fate for them to sit
------ravenfeels
Apr 26, 2021
Apr 26, 2021 at 3:14 PM UTC
& around we went...
circling the reality
that at some point
the wheel would stop turning
& we’d have to return home...
- a.r. Camm
Apr 4, 2021
Apr 4, 2021 at 12:19 PM UTC
I was thinking if ever I went to Bethlehem for Christmas
Then Bethlehem would have had two Stars
I'd be there shining mightily like I do
And all the people, they'd suddenly say from afar
Look! Look yonder...yonder lies a Star
There's another Star, another Star in Bethlehem
Look! He's in there drinking, drinking at the bar
He's just having... just having himself a jar
The Other Star...the Other Star of Bethlehem.
And then they'd all gather around me excited saying
You're the Other Star, the Other Star of Bethlehem
And I'd say "I'm the what, the Other, the Other Star of Bethlehem
Well that ain't exactly very flattering
Maybe I don't want to be 'the Other Star'".
So I'd think for a second
"Why not call me instead, call me... the Czar, the Czar of Bethlehem
Then the Star could be the Star again
And me! I could be the Czar
The Czar of Bethlehem".
Wow!! they all said in unison,
You're the Czar, you're not the Star
You're the Czar
The Czar of Bethlehem.
Dec 23, 2020
Dec 23, 2020 at 6:17 PM UTC
I fell in love with her
not like a lover
but a soulmate.
I wish not
to taint her skin
with my touch,
but rather
admire her forever
from afar.
Jul 4, 2020
Jul 4, 2020 at 10:39 AM UTC
Perhaps
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
The cohesiveness between us, you may remember, or perhaps not.
Our solemn oaths of faithfulness, you may remember, or perhaps forgot.
If something happened that was not to your liking,
the shrinking away that produces silence, you may remember, or perhaps not.
Listen, the sagas of so many years, the promises you made amid time's onslaught,
which you now fail to mention, you may remember, or perhaps not.
These new resentments, those old rehashed complaints,
these lighthearted and displeasing stories, you may remember, or perhaps forgot.
Some seasons ago we shared love and desire, we shared joy ...
That we once were dear friends, you may have, perhaps, forgot.
Now if we come together, by fate or by chance, to express old loyalties ...
Our every shared breath, all our sighs and regrets, you may remember, or perhaps not.
Being
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
You are so close to me
that no one else ever can be.
NOTE: There is a legend that the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib offered all his diwan (poetry collections) in exchange for this one sher (couplet) by Momin Khan Momin. Does the couplet mean "be as close" or "be, at all"? Does it mean "You are with me in a way that no one else can ever be?" Or does it mean that no one else can ever exist as truly as one's true love? Or does this sher contain an infinite number of elusive meanings, like love itself?
Being (II)
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
You alone are with me when I am alone.
You are beside me when I am beside myself.
You are as close to me as everyone else is afar.
You are so close to me that no one else ever can be.
Keywords/Tags: Translation, Urdu, Momin Khan Momin, love, close, closeness, unity, farness, afar, memory, remembrance, forgetfulness, remember, forget, forgot, time, silence, mrburdu
May 1, 2020
May 1, 2020 at 5:53 AM UTC
Editor's Notes
by Michael R. Burch
Eat, drink and be merry
(tomorrow, be contrary).
***** and complain
in bad refrain,
but please—not till I'm on the plane.)
Write no poem before its time
(in your case, this means never).
Linger over every word
(by which, I mean forever).
By all means, read your verse aloud.
I'm sure you'll be a star
(and just as distant, when I'm gone);
your poems are beauteous (afar).
Keywords/Tags: editor, notes, refrain, recite, distance, distant, afar, star, poet, poems
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM UTC
I see the golden rays of sunshine
On the street and against the houses
I long to bask in it
And absorb all of warmth and beauty
There are trees blossoming
Flowers are blooming
Bees are busy zooming
Oh how beautiful it is outside
I wonder what the parks might be like
But alas, I cannot go
I am to stay inside
Only to observe nature’s greatness
From my clear glass window
Mar 20, 2020
Mar 20, 2020 at 10:55 AM UTC
Black blankets above cover the plane
Not much to see
apart from the rain
Lights in the landscape
vary in height
Specks in the sky
as we travel at night
Circles and signs surround from afar
Cats eyes sparkle below in the tar
Stay in your lane as the lights travel past
Red and white blurs
We're moving so fast
Feb 18, 2020
Feb 18, 2020 at 4:05 PM UTC
For fifteen months I wrote fifteen letters
With countless reasons we should know each other better
But I never read you line of them
It was all in my mind, our love
Now I leave you behind for good
What was the point of it
I’m not too sure
But I enjoyed admiring you from afar
I’m pretty sure it helped to grow my heart
So I’ll be wishing you the best
And that the best is yet to come
Jan 16, 2020
Jan 16, 2020 at 3:14 PM UTC
Whisper of the wind
Voices in the trees
Hear my wish
And let it reach her
Whisper in her ear
Stroke those freckled cheeks
Mingle with her lively light
But gently, with care
Out of sight
She doesn't need to know
about me
Let her be free
But let a loving glow
fill her heart
Keep her safe
Even if we're apart
Dec 7, 2019
Dec 7, 2019 at 4:31 PM UTC
I feel like a star
so small from afar
yearning for someone to come closer
and see that I'm more
than just another speck in the sky
Jul 27, 2019
Jul 27, 2019 at 1:29 PM UTC
When your kisses started to fade and your sighs started a charade
I understood ,eventually
I would have to love you from
far away.
May 25, 2019
May 25, 2019 at 8:47 AM UTC
if i fell for you because of your eyes
and how they held galaxies from afar
how did i get my heart broke by the way
you wouldn't lend me a star?
Nov 23, 2018
Nov 23, 2018 at 5:38 PM UTC
Watching you from afar,
You seem like my last love.
Hoping you feel the same,
But you looking other way.
Like the wind,
Like the dust,
I cant catch you..
Believing it's love,
I call it destiny..
In your eyes,
I am living there.
Feeling the void,
When you not there.
But you not feeling the same.
Hold onto me,
Because i am crying,
I can't have you,
So this love is dying.
Nov 18, 2018
Nov 18, 2018 at 2:20 AM UTC
Twinkle twinkle little star,
Every night you glisten so far,
My grandchildren live afar,
Tell them they are the best by far.
I have no one to say,
Grandma,please don't go,stay,
Only a little while,
I love to see your happy smile.
For long I have not felt you sleep on my shoulder,
A chance to hold you a little longer.
I would love to feed you with icecreams and cookies,
Shower on you cuddles and kisses.
Day and night,
I miss my grandparent right,
To store your beautiful childhood memories,
To form a strong bond that every grandparent cherishes.
The pages of my life have you missing,
For what I have and cannot have
my heart aching.
Remember,though we may be apart,
You will always be in my heart.
Nov 5, 2018
Nov 5, 2018 at 8:07 AM UTC
One, bright star,
In an otherwise dark sky.
That is what you are,
And now I know why.
Much like a star,
I could only observe from afar.
You were always there –
Radiant, with a certain flair.
I witnessed as you overcame nightmares,
As if you had the energy of a thousand solar flares.
Forged from unstoppable chemistry,
Leaving earth scorched with phenomenal synergies of energies.
I always saw you through this lens tinged with admiration.
Head and shoulders above the rest, a jewel of all creation.
I felt inadequacy by comparison, extensively -
I never respected myself enough,
I gave myself to people recklessly,
People who turned me cold and tough.
And so, our paths never crossed.
A faraway star you remained,
And over our friendship I casually glossed.
I was always coveting unspoken fantasies,
Never realising I was sheltering under broken canopies.
Perhaps you also had this thought.
Perhaps from afar, your own insecurities you also fought.
Never have I hoped with so much suspenseful delight
To see two stars collide;
I wish to fill up the darkness of this universe with light,
And bridge this divide.
Now that I’ve realised
I no longer need a canopy,
All I can think of
Are excuses to seek your company.
Aug 28, 2018
Aug 28, 2018 at 6:59 AM UTC
Your calm and graceful essence
Exalts your beauty in its entirety
A Humanistic effervescence,
And a sharpened wit so fiery,
I long for but a moment of your presence,
My heart yours entirely,
To be considered in such reverence,
As I with passion so admire thee.
You bring beauty to autonomy,
A spirit I would never break,
I would simply want the world to see,
This vision in the heavens make,
Such as I envisage you to be,
For driven through my heart'ed stake,
Belief in passions of chivalry,
Which leaves my yearning heart to ache.
Radiant replies of divinity,
Whose shadows could not forsake,
Light paths towards eternity,
In hopes you too desire courage to take,
A whimsical chance with the likes of me.
I see the depths beneath your waters wake,
Not many others take the time to see,
Beyond the emerald shimmering lakes
Of your eyes that shout in curiosity,
If only you'd take that fated leap,
We'd watch the worlds beneath us shake.
May 21, 2018
May 21, 2018 at 4:36 PM UTC