Articles by "English Poetry"

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Flowers in the sky
Dandelion puffs invaded the sky
White, dainty like a spider web , floating
The uninterrupted cavalcade keeps moving
Going far, to places I drew in my imagination
Wind licking sky with a coarse tongue
Attempting to change the puffs' configuration
The air smells of spring, but somehow spring's in a dreamy state
Too lazy to wake up, to force trees into a blooming coma
Please, fairies, spread some magic dust
Tickle spring's nostrils with your tiny wings
Or time will pass and she will not awake according to the clock
Bypassed by her sultry, muggy sister... summer
Dandelions are fading in the sky
It's clearing now ...an uninterrupted indigo
As far as eyes can scope, horizon melting into
One, a consummated love affair with the earth
by Margaret Gudkov

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Hopelessness
Desperation
Mother of so many problems
Blood rushing like a tornado through the veins
No rationale ...just running on empty
On the eerie night street, afraid of every shadow
Lurking in the alleys
To solve the problems
All means on the table
Shuffle, pick any without thinking of ramifications
Fear controlling the mind, building to climax
Nightmares lurking between the sheets
Fix, fix, fix...a drumbeat in the ears
Desperation blindfolds the human heart
No reason can squeeze in ...the door is shut
Decisions made in the unsettled judgement
A cloudy, foggy web clinging to the intellect
The splenetic feeling leading to a bad finale
by Margaret Gudkov
art by Josh Sommers
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Tangerines
On the cusp of falling
Tangerines overburdened the old trees
It's ominously quiet in the deserted village
No one left to pick this year's crop
Politics again destroyed the peaceful coexistence
People run away, afraid to become sitting ducks
Unlocked doors, neglected gardens, and the mountains
Standing like sentinels watching, not taking sides
Abandoned, the land struggles for survival
The wild shrubbery of boysenberries blocking roads
Weeds mobbing the soil...without permission, growing everywhere
And parts of blown off human flesh attracting animals and birds
Last signs of normalcy ...the tangerines
Affixed still to branches, will die eventually, falling
Destined not to be kissed by human lips,
Tasting juicy goodness flowing down the throat
Instead turning into rotting, shriveling reminders...a food for worms
Same as soldiers, fighting on both sides
by Margaret Gudkov
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Red Riding hood
You're a such silly girl to trust the wolf
Didn't your mother used to say..don't talk to strangers
The forest is full of dangerous and eerie things
And monsters often preying on females
Walk in the dark forest by yourself
A foolish option, unnecessary risk of life
Predators waiting, perverts expecting, maniacs in search of
Naive, incautious girls, gathering flowers and berries
They vanish in thin air every year...without a trace
Red Riding hood
You're a bad example for young women
Your story had a happy end, not in real life, alas
Sex traffickers and pedophiles are not phantoms
Roaming the spirit world, but real, existing people
Not thinking twice when money and the sex drive knock at the door
Small wonder that both versions of this folktale
Were written by men...no woman can come up
With such an inconsistent plot....no mother would sent her daughter
To wander aimlessly in the woods
by Margaret Gudkov
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The tears collector
On the boat
Calmly working oars
He'd visit islands, collecting tears and sorrows
A tiny glass container in his worn out hands
Seeing folks' mournful faces, lips whispering the secrets
For years, collecting precious liquid of souls
Believing it can save the locals from nature's revenge
The naive man, helpless to stop bizarre provincial sacrifices
An offering of the young bride to the groom sea
Or a stubborn artist, refusing to paint the water blue
By taking away the tears from people
Nothing was changed in their conduct
They'd cry, confess, unloading the weight
And start anew the superstitious business
Sinning and praying at the same time...like drinking vodka with a heart pill
He got tired of seeing death's lamenting presence
Powerless to stop the true essentiality of people
Always blaming misfortunes on someone weaker
Always seeking a scapegoat in a dire situation
So he left them , not wanting to play at their own game
Saying "I am too old for this nonsense "
Those tears were fake as fake news spreads the lie
The kernel of the human character has too many flaws
by Margaret Gudkov
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The Greatest Love Story of All Time

Who doesn't love a great love story?  Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that the entire world loves a lover.  All of us love a love story. Romance novels are perennially on the best-seller's list because everybody likes to read a love story. Movies that have as their theme a love story, sell in the millions because everybody loves a love story.  

History is filled with love stories that have been recorded through the ages and surprisingly nothing much has changed. The love these people had for their special someone might have been mere gossip in their day but it survived time in the form of changing the course of history and leaving monuments in memory of one another. 

The famous love stories are a living proof that love is immortal. Though lovers die, love remains forever and does not let their sacrifices go waste. These popular love affairs are an inspiration to many around the world. Most youngsters smitten by love often become synonymous to these famous lovers. People give them names like Romeo-Juliet that proves that these famous lovers are a big inspiration for falling in love.

Our American society is infatuated with love and romance. This is reflected in the movies Hollywood produces and most of the popular songs that are written. The stories of lovers who believed in each other and their love even if the whole world was against them still inspire and often, make us sad. They did, however, show us that true love is stronger than anything else in the world. And it is the love that they had we are all hoping to find someday.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony is one of those love stories.  Cleopatra is best remembered as Egypt's last Pharaoh even though she ruled in alliance with her male relatives. Remembered in history as the most beautiful woman, she managed to charm two of the most powerful men in the world. Cleopatra fell in love with Mark Anthony after the death of Julius Caesar and their relationship lasted 11 years. In 41 B.C, Antony stabbed himself with his sword after mistakenly hearing that Cleopatra had already done the same. He was brought to Cleopatra and died in her arms.  Cleopatra took her life by inducing an asp bite in her. Cleopatra and Mark Antony are said to be buried together but the location of their tomb remains a mystery. 

Probably the most famous love story of all was written by the celebrated English poet and playwright William Shakespeare, of the tragic love between Romeo and Juliet. I completely appreciate the brilliance of Shakespeare, and although this love story tempestuous between Romeo and Juliet has its own significance, I can’t deny the fact it is one of the greatest love stories of all time. Definitely it is wonderful to see these two hopeless and young lovers who are willing to sacrifice everything in order to be together, but their story is momentary. Because of the feud between their families, they soon plan to take their lives so that they can be united ultimately in death. Romeo also commits suicide for mistakenly believing that Juliet is dead. Upon discovering his dead body Juliet does he same when she finds Romeo is dead. 

The Bible is a book that is packed full with love stories. Stories which are romantic, stories of betrayal, temptation and tragedy, even a few about love at first sight - a topic which a good few are skeptical about.

Isaac and Rebekah

The first love story that comes to mind when thinking of the first book of the Bible is Isaac and Rebekah's. Abraham, Isaac's father, sends his servant out to find a wife for his son among his people. The servant arrives in the land of his master and prays to the Lord to guide him when choosing the right wife. He prays that the girl will offer to not only draw water for him to drink, but water to feed his camels also. Along comes Rebekah who offers her services and willingly serves the servant. She then invites him to her home. The servant realizes she is the one. He tells her father and brother of his journey and his promise to Abraham, and they consent to let Rebekah leave with him to marry a man she has never met. Rebekah is asked if she wants to go and she readily consents to this arranged marriage. When Isaac sees her in the distance, the Bible says it was love at first sight. Rebekah and Isaac go on to have twin boys and though they have their differences, the Bible does not dispute their love for one another. (See Genesis Chapter 24)

Jacob and Rachel

Another love story happens just a few chapters down when Isaac and Rebekah's son Jacob flees from his brother's wrath to the same land from whence his mother came. He sees at the well, a shepherdess and her name is Rachel. She is the daughter of his mother's brother, Laban. He pledges to work for seven years so that he can marry Rachel and when he is tricked by Laban into marrying Leah, Rachel's sister, he works seven more to make Rachel his bride. Thus Jacob ends up with two wives. One whom he loves more than the other. This causes friction between the sisters and one cannot help but feel sorry for both. The unloved sister is blessed with children while the loved one is barren and both are unsatisfied with Jacob being in the middle. The Bible says that Leah was blesses with children so that she would be comforted because of the love she lacked. But Rachel longed for children as well and said to Jacob, "Give me children or I die." In the end Jacob ends up with twelve sons from Leah, Rachel and their maids Zilpah and Bilhah. Rachel dies giving birth to the last son, Benjamin whom she named Benoni meaning son of my sorrow but Jacob changed his name to Benjamin meaning son of the right hand. She is buried on the way to Bethlehem while Leah dies presumably in her old age and is buried next to Jacob in the tomb of Mamre. (See Genesis 30-35)

Boaz and Ruth

Coming from Moab with her mother-in-law, a widow, Ruth arrives in Bethlehem and gleans in the field of Boaz. He is kind to her and makes sure that she is able to receive all that she needs. When Naomi says that he is he kinsman redeemer, Ruth acts upon her advice and goes to Boaz who takes responsibility for her. He redeems his kinsman's inheritance which includes Ruth, and marries her. Together, Ruth and Boaz they have a son whose name is Obed who becomes the father of Jesse who becomes the father of David. (See the Book of Ruth)

Samson and Delilah

There are countless others- Samson and Delilah comes to mind. He was a mighty judge of Israel and she a Philistine woman. His parents asked him to marry a woman of his own people but he would not listen. He falls in love with Delilah. Delilah betrays him into the hands of the Philistines when he reveals to her the source of his strength. He is beaten and blinded as a result and in the end, God grants him the strength he once had to kill more Philistines in his death than he ever did in his life. (See Judges 13-16 for the full story of Samson)

David and Bathsheba

Then there is David and Bathsheba. How he gave into his temptation when he saw her bathing on the rooftop. He schemes and plots and has her husband Uriah murdered so that he can marry her, and as a result of this, God allows the life of their first-born child to die. The Bible says that at the time, David was blinded when it came to his sin, and the prophet Nathan had to reveal it to him through a parable. He repents and the Lord forgives him. They go on to have a son named Solomon - the king who was known for his wisdom. (See 2 Samuel 11-12 to read that story in its entirety.)

Solomon and Sheba

Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon which is one of the most poetic expressions of love in history. Some speculate that it was written to the Queen of Sheba who came to see if all the rumors of Solomon were true. Here is a little sample of his poetry:

How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. Song of Solomon 4:10-16 K.J.V.

Ahasuerus and Esther

After Solomon's songs, one comes across the story of Esther. A young Jewish girl, chosen to be Queen in place of Vashti who has been deposed of by King Ahasuerus. She is in a delicate position, her people are in danger, and yet, the King shows her favor and offers her up to half of his kingdom. (See Esther)

Joseph and Mary

Engaged to a man whom she has never known physically, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel who tells her she is to conceive and bear a son whose name will be Jesus. Joseph too is visited by the angel and instead of casting Mary aside, he chooses to marry her and raise the child as his own. This child is the Messiah of the world. (See Luke 1-2)

 The Greatest Love Story Ever Written

What is the greatest love story of all-time? If you were to ask this question on the streets, you probably would get a variety of answers like Romeo & Juliet or Gone With The Wind. These are great stories filled with romance but all pale in comparison to the greatest love story of all-time: The Holy Bible.

Why is the Holy Bible the greatest love story ever written? Just read it. God is love (1 John 4:8). Every Scripture of the Bible, if it were broken down like a molecular structure into atoms, the atoms would all reveal love.

But what makes The Holy Bible the greatest love story is that it is non-fiction and contains the greatest and highest examples of love: philia love (brotherly love, the love between friends as Jesus had with His Apostles) and agape love (the unconditional, selfless type of true love. It is God’s kind of love.)

God’s Love For Us

More importantly than romantic love, is God's love for us. God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to die for our sins and so that he could understand our pain and suffering. As sinners we are not worthy, but this is proof of God's love. grace and mercy:

1 John 4:7 : You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:4-5: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Love Is A Choice, Be Pro-Love

Whether is it loving our spouses, loving God or loving our neighbor as ourselves, they are all the same in God's eyes and Love is a choice. God gave us free will. We choose to love our spouses as Christ loves us and be committed to them until death do us part or we dishonor God's commands. 

In loving our neighbors, we choose to help our friends and the less fortunate or we ignore Jesus’s teaching and life on earth. In our relationship with God, we choose either good or evil, lightness over darkness, or eternal life vs. death.

Jesus said to His disciples John 15:11-19: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."

Jesus didn't say to love one another, only if they think like you, look like you, dress like you, or only, if they are a nice person or if you know them well.

In fact, Jesus even tells us to love our enemies:

Luke 6:27-28: But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:32-33: If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.

Our goal and purpose in Life

God is love and He wants us to have an eyelash-to-eyelash relationship with Him. We can only achieve this through faith plus love. We must love & forgive again, and again, and again… as God loves us and as Jesus Christ demonstrated for us.

As Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “How can you love the one you cannot see, if you don’t love the one you can see?” (1 John 4:20.)

If you don’t know what your purpose in life is, it is to love God and all in his Kingdom on earth and to strive for eternal life.

As Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

As for those who subscribe to Sola Scriptura, remember that Jesus Christ never wrote a book while on this earth. He taught orally, yet he authored the greatest love story through His actions. We need to read the book, know the book, but most importantly, we need to live the book—the book of love. As the old saying goes, "You may be the only Bible someone ever reads or the only Jesus someone sees."

So, it should be quite clear, our challenge—every day—while on this earth... is to author our own great love story.

Actually, God is the author of the greatest love story ever told. ~ His relentless pursuit of our heart is evidence of his unconditional love for us:  Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. He laid down His life for His friends fulfilling every prophesy made about Him in the Old Testament. The Bible says in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The greatest love story in the Bible is this one and it started from the beginning and has no end. The other love stories last for a time. His love is forever. (See the entire Bible.) Just before His death, the real messianic hero uttered these final words: “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”  

A young student asked Karl Barth to share the most significant theological truth he had discovered in all of his years of study. Barth, one of the most prolific theologians of the 20th century, wrote approximately sixty volumes of commentaries and theological studies. This brilliant man that many call the most important theologian of modern times thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

These very words are what make it the greatest love story ever told.

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Bring me the stars

Bring me the stars
Still retaining brightness
Pluck them from the night sky
One by one, choosing most dazzling
Like diamonds on the dark velvet
Magnetizing eyes, shimmering, attracting
Petulant children of the universe
Love to be admired and touched

Climb ladder, higher, higher
Toss them down to the ground
So I can arrange them in my garden
As the flowers that never will wilt or die
No water need it to keep the stars alive
They'd bloom with luminosity despite the season's mood

Bring me the stars
So I'll arrange a few in my hair
Alighting my face, giving the glowing disposition
Like a princess on the ball I will be dancing forever
Amidst the other stars ...unnoticed from below
When time arrives in golden carriage to chaperon me
Just another shining dot on the inky background
Blinking, twinkling, laughing

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Natalia Moroz

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New Year's reflection

Somebody's sadness wailing outside the window
Caught in the wind's tight, cold unrelenting grasp
Temperatures keep climbing to freezing numbers
The New Year, almost here, shadowing the past

It's time to sum up this year's events
Kiss it goodbye ...remember and erase
Put a fence between the previous and coming months
Maybe with a hint of bitterness, forgive yourself for mistakes

Unpredictability of the future
Become a year older soon
Another line crossed over on the universe's timetable
This celebration is for a younger generation to enjoy

For them time is chimera
Something intangible and vague to reckon
Not worrying much as there are many years to come
The blissful ignorance or arrogance of inexperienced youth

How sweet it is to ignore the fact of mortality
Laugh, dance, drink champagne on account of the New Year
Later, aging quite a bit, prudence will turn this celebration into reflection
Of what has been done, and what could have happened

by Margaret Gudkov

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"The Great Flood"

My world is flooded
With the struggles of generations
Whose stories
Play
Mind tricks
On my nature
Which is why I seem lost
Unsure of myself
As I look
For a familiar spot
To drop the anchor of stability.

My breathing has started to slow
I have become too exhausted to
Keep the waters at bay
No longer
Able to find safe harbor
For my elemental treasures.

My balance must be restored
If I am to withstand
The swirling pull of
Changing currents
Shaking me from top to bottom.

Now while there's still time
To survive the onslaught
I intend to teach my offspring
The poignant lessons
They have
Missed in the past
Or they will drown.

For the floodwaters to recede
I must inspire them to chase
The angst and pain of
Illusions accumulated
In all their histories.
What they thought to be
Irrefutable
What they believed
Would last forever
Is fragile after all.

I, Mother Earth,
Standing precariously
In high waters
Have sent the bird of paradise
With my message
My most urgent wish
To share with
My most precious lifeforms.

May they re-examine reality
With open minds
May they find within
The determination
To hear my plea
May they gain the wisdom
They need
To reclaim the ground
From this great flood of vulnerability.

(Words: Harvey Kraft; Art: Beth Spencer)

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Hafez (1325 – 1389): Never-ever, I repent…
. 
Never-ever, I repent, in the season flowers grow.
The will is just not there, my wise front is a show!
.
Where is the fiddler? I’ll give up my virtue and sense,
When the oud, harp and flute are played in the meadow!
.
I am fed up with, the tales and the talks, of the academe,
To the wine and the beloved, for a while, I will bow!
.
.
.
.
Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani.
Artwork: Reza Rahimi Lasko.
.
***&***
.
In Persian:
.
حاشا که من به موسم گل ترک می کنم
من لاف عقل می‌زنم این کار کی کنم
.
مطرب کجاست تا همه محصول زهد و علم
در کار چنگ و بربط و آواز نی کنم
.
از قیل و قال مدرسه حالی دلم گرفت
یک چند نیز خدمت معشوق و می کنم
.
Image may contain: 1 person, guitar
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iTech Dunya is a technology blog that specializes in tech-related topics.Our GOAL is to produce high-quality content for our millions of readers.
Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
----
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
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