Writing

Athenian Epitaphs

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

These are epitaphs placed on gravestones and monuments by the ancient Greeks in remembrance of their dead.The Seikilos Epitaphby Seikilos of Euterpesl..

Leonidas of Tarentum Translation

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Blame not the gale, or the inhospitable sea-gulf, or friends’ tardiness,mariner! Just man’s foolhardiness.by Leonidas of Tarentum, transla..

Anacreon translation

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Anacreon(circa 582-485BC)was a Greekpoet who is remembered today especially for his drinking songs and erotic poems. He is included in the cano..

Parmenio translation

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Be ashamed, O mountains and seas: these were men who drew valorous breath.Assume, like pale chattels, an ashen silence at death.by Parmenio, translati..

Epigrams II

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Brief FlingbyMichael R. Burch“Epigram”means cram,then scram!Midnight StairclimberbyMichael R. BurchProcreationis at first great sweaty rec..

Epigrams III

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Speechlessby Ko Untranslation by Michael R. BurchAt Auschwitzpiles of glasses,mountains of shoes ...returning, we stared out different windows.Conform..

Epigrams IV

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Epigrams by Michael R. Burch

Elegy for a little girl, lost ...

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Elegy for a little girl, lostbyMichael R. Burch. . . qui laetificat juventutem meam . . .She was the joy of my youth,and now she is gone.. . . requies..

She was the joy of my youth (Elegy)

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

She was the joy of my youthbyMichael R. Burch. . . qui laetificat juventutem meam . . .She was the joy of my youth,and now she is gone.. . . requiesca..

Last Anthem, for Victims of the Coronavirus

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Last Anthemby Michael R. Burchfor victims of the coronavirusWhere you have gone are the shadows falling...does memory palelike a fossil in shale...do ..

Epigrams V

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Epigrams Vby Michael R. BurchLess Heroic Couplets: Word to the Unwiseby Michael R. BurchI wanted to be good as gold,but being good, as I’ve been..

Hiroshima Poems

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Hiroshima PoemsLet Us Be Midwives!by Hiroshima survivor Sadako Kuriharaloose translation/interpretation by Michael R. BurchMidnight . . .the basement ..

Childless

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

Childlessby Michael R. BurchHow can she bear her grief?Mightier than Atlas, she shoulders the weightof one fallen star.Laughter’s Cryby Michael ..

Doppelganger

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

DoppelgangerbyMichael R. BurchHere the only anguishis the bedraggled vetch lying strangled in weeds,the customary sorrows of the wild persimmons,the w..

Translations of "Xenia" epigrams by Johann Wolfgan..

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

These are modern English translations of the "Xenia" epigrams written in collaboration by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller.#2 - Love ..

Stephane Mallarme translations

A Poem by Michael R. Burch

These are my modern English translations of poems by Stephane Mallarme, one of my favorite French poets. These include the sonnet "Le Cygne" ("The Swa..