These are English translations of Urdu poems by Ahmad Faraz.

The Eager Traveler
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Even in the torture chamber, I was the lucky one;
When each lottery was over, unaccountably I had won.

And even the mightiest rivers found accessible refuge in me;
Though I was called an arid desert, I turned out to be the sea.

And how sweetly I remember you, oh, my wild, delectable love—
Like the purest white blossoms, on talented branches above.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) was one of the most famous Urdu poets. In fact, his reputation is such that he has been called "the Poet of the East." His name is often spelled Faiz Ahmad Faiz in English. These are my modern English translations of Urdu poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Last Night
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

These are love poems by Michael R. Burch: original poems and translations about love, passion, desire, sex, flirting, dating and marriage. On an amusing note, my steamy Sappho and Baudelaire translations have become popular with the pros ― porn stars and escort services!



Preposterous Eros
by Michael R. Burch

“Preposterous Eros” – Patricia Falanga

Preposterous Eros shot me in
the buttocks, with a Devilish grin,
spent all my money in a rush
then left my heart effete pink mush.

These are poems I call my Fables...



Will There Be Starlight
by Michael R. Burch

These are poems about Ann Rutledge and her romantic relationship with Abraham Lincoln. 

Winter Thoughts of Ann Rutledge
by Michael R. Burch

Winter was not easy,
nor would the spring return.
I knew you by your absence,
as men are wont to burn
with strange indwelling fire —
such longings you inspire!

But winter was not easy,
nor would the sun relent
from sculpting virgin images
and how could I repent?
I left quaint offerings in the snow,
more maiden than I care to know.

***

Cosmos’s Love Poems

A number of my love poems have been published over the years.  Here are some of them.  Enjoy.
Index

January 2022 Poems

My Wife Is My Passion
Please Give Me A Kiss New Years Love Poem
On A Fine Date In September, A Date I Will Always Remember 
Love Etheree Revised
Drinking Coffee Is My Delight
My Love Is As Love
My Love Is Like
Drinking Coffee Is My Delight Coffee
Sam Adams Met Her On That Date
Thankful For My Angel
It Was The Beginning Of The End
I Found What I Was Looking For.

These are love poems by Michael R. Burch. Some are poems about love in desert places where Bedouins have learned to do without. The poems include everything from heroic couplets, sonnets and villanelles, to free verse and haiku. 

Sonnet: Once (a confirmed bachelor recants)
by Michael R. Burch

for Beth

Once when her kisses were fire incarnate
and left in their imprint bright lipstick, and flame,
when her breath rose and fell over smoldering dunes,
leaving me listlessly sighing her name ...

These are poems about roses, and what they say and don't say to us ...

Roses for a Lover, Idealized
by Michael R. Burch

When you have become to me
as roses bloom, in memory,
exquisite, each sharp thorn forgot,
will I recall—yours made me bleed?

When winter makes me think of you—
whorls petrified in frozen dew,
bright promises blithe spring forsook,
will I recall your words—barbed, cruel?

***

What The Roses Don’t Say
by Michael R. Burch

This is my first sonnet, written as a teen, followed by other early sonnets and sonnet-like poems of mine ...

Sonnet 130 Refuted
by Michael R. Burch

These are Romantic poems (with a capital R) that I have written under the influence of feminine beauty and poets like Sappho, e. e. cummings, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Kevin N. Roberts, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Dylan Thomas.

She Gathered Lilacs
by Michael R. Burch

for Beth

She gathered lilacs
and arrayed them in her hair;
tonight, she taught the wind to be free.

She kept her secrets
in a silver locket;
her companions were starlight and mystery.