William Michaelian

Poems, Notes, and Drawings

Tag Archive for ‘Poems’

November

The mild rainy weather has given rise to a new generation of mold, creating a scented atmosphere as complex and alluring as a newly opened grave. November 15, 2021 . November The ear fills with sky-sounds, the eye with cloud-motion and leaf-fall. Distances are not what we think them at all, but blessings ripe and uncountable. The glad-spent remains of the summer garden are brought to the pile. Manure is […]

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Winter Watch

The birds are out, the robins in pairs, their colors intense. They are like little day-lanterns that help me see the light. And now it is night, and the wind is high in the meadow. And the wind is why my body is a hut the trees know. Recently Banned Literature, December 19, 2017 . [ 1287 ]

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November Wind

November wind by which all that is useless and spent is driven from me I like to think you begin in the heart of a small wood curious about the lives and the love of two leaves and that you are as helpless as anyone who has faith in poetry Recently Banned Literature, November 13, 2017 . [ 1286 ]

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Your Bird on Her Limb in the Rain

drop by drop on fallen leaves / music comes to a poem November 11, 2021 . Your Bird on Her Limb in the Rain Remember, when you describe something, you are really describing yourself. So be vivid. Describe well. The more clearly I see your bird on her limb in the rain, the more I will rejoice in your glorious spring. Recently Banned Literature, February 23, 2017 . [ 1285 […]

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Dress Rehearsal

One of the blessings of memory is the opportunity it gives us to go back in our minds and apologize to those we have thoughtlessly made suffer, and promise them such a thing will never happen again. And though at first it may seem contradictory, the blessing is especially great when the person we are addressing has already passed on. When the wrong is acknowledged and the apology and pledge […]

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You, a Stone

day / life / saving / time November 7, 2021 . You, a Stone A quiet pool, and you, a stone, dropped in; Now, a leaf in the wind, changes everything. Recently Banned Literature, November 23, 2014 . [ 1281 ]

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Loose Ends

When I was born, I was given a genocide. I was also given a dear dead uncle who had killed, and been killed, in war. I was given simplicity, poverty, hunger, and joy. I was given anger and disappointment. I was given pride and competition. I was given physical and psychological pain. I was given fear. I was given honesty. I was given laughter. I was given play. I grew […]

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Resting on the Rim

Insects, resting on the rim of a wide blue flowerpot; a bird, eating them one by one; each is acting according to its need, until the need is no more. No greed, no poverty, no depleted resources; no waste, no alleys lined with overflowing garbage cans. Good fortune: in times of plenty, all are filled; when times are lean, all are lean. Gratitude: to be here now, in joy and […]

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