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Please take the time to read and enjoy my poetry! It is my ongoing project and I am looking forward to translating my poems into Turkish, Portuguese, and French. JFB
Colonies
A friend pointed out that people don’t mind using the word “colonies,” But become uncomfortable with the words “Colonialism” or Even...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Tree Temple
A church has a steeple reaching to heaven A mosque has a minaret The Hindu mandir towers seem to touch the clouds But a tree is a great...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Swimming in Time.
Time is for us what water is to fish We swim in it Our whole lives are spent in it It wouldn’t occur to a fish to resent water So, we...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Lost, Given, and Gift
You Cannot lose what you never really have. My children, learn this well Unrequited love One-sided friendships Unrealistic expectations...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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God’s Whisper
Arkadaşım Seda için/For my friend Seda The voice of nature is God’s whisper Only stop to listen The buzzing of bees The songs of birds...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Love Story
A lady spied a cedar waxwing fly into a window And die. She said that its mate came and placed its head next to hers, Closed his eyes,...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Tővbe/Teshuvah/Al Tawba/Repentance
Repentance. Is a turning away Taking a different path forward. But let’s apply it to our journey. It is not self-condemnation Or...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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loyalty is not
Falling in love Blind Adulation A transaction A pious demonstration Servitude Guilty obligation Nor just a habit of proximity. Loyalty is...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Nationalism
A German President said that patriotism Is Loving your Country; Nationalism is loving your country And hating everyone else’s. I am a...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Morning Calm
There are birds singing and only a little rustling in the trees The earth is still warm from yesterday’s sun The air smells like moist...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Gratitude for the Ungrateful
There was a time when I would seethe Over those whom I had helped Or given something of value—including my time Only for them to lack...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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The Riot Quelled—January 6
I cannot hear your words While your anger alone is speaking While your voice drips bitterness And An Inadequacy of speech. I can hear But...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Dark Hour
My friend said that we are living in a dark hour The news is dark; sad events hide the sun from our eyes Cruel words hide the song of...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Bravery
Brave heroes ride on horseback Arjuna in his chariot Or little David facing Goliath’s taunts. Or brave in spirit Rosa Parks on her bus Or...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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The Untouchable (Ambedkar)
Every land has its untouchables Not Just India Only in India, they openly call out untouchables But we too have the disdained, The...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Affection: Happy Valentine's Day!
What is love and what is affection? It is amazing! If you take a genuine interest in someone else’s life They often take a genuine...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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The Arrowhead
I have arrowheads Crafted long ago in the forests When it was still called The Dawn Country Perhaps used for hunting Perhaps used for...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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The Light of Hope
Is there a place inside the heart Where sadness never dwells Where the pain of loss Cannot penetrate as a poison To kill hope? Is there a...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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HUMILITY
Humility is the result of gratitude for things great and small And to see how small one is In the face of great things To realize that...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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Summer Contemplation Memory
Today it is hot, mercilessly so But the smell of the hot earth takes me back To a time of the same smell When I was about 14 and it was...
JF Bierlein
Jan 2, 20231 min read
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