Long Abated Poems

Watching wan moonlight
illuminate tree limbs,
my heart also brims,
overflowing with autumn.
—Ono no Komachi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono...

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As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono no Komachi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Submit to you—is that what you advise? 
The way the ripples...

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After wishing me a good morning, he said that it was all set,
It was time to raze the house, even though I wasn't in debt!

But they wanted to build a big highway, exactly in this...

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yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #1
by michael r. burch

plagued by the Plague
i plague the goldfish
with my verse



yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #2
by michael r. burch

sunflowers
hang their heads
embarrassed by their coronas

I wrote this poem after having...

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           I saw her writing in the rain,
               Bent to shield...

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THE DESERT THE WILDERNESS THE STORM

I am parched, my back is arched, 
my body racked with pain,
Nothing green in sight, 
my thirst, my plight, 
eyes playing tricks on me again. 

An illusion of rest beside...

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There are moments when troubles enter our life’s
And we can do nothing to avoid them
But the one's we can
They look convoluted unless we demystify
But we think they are byzantine
As we think the mysteries in them...

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Thunder 

From hills in the distance
Comes the roll of thunder
Soon raindrops are spotting
His mind turns to wonder
The sky flashes brightly
In vivid white and blue
He knows in a short time
This storm will break through

Above clouds are...

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The Great Falls of the northern Plains is actually a chain of five seperate waterfalls
varying in height and majesty extending over 12 miles,
they also confirm that the right river was chosen,
we had hoped that the...

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A Night on the Road         

It was a dark and stormy night, as he rode around the mob.
The bridle reins held loosely, the night horse knew his...

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I beg on behalf of the human race re. our effects on mother nature.

Help is what she needs, her abilities slighted
Atrocities committed by man impeding her adventure.
Verily, all things are so bad, and by us...

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With the waves crashing down on my mind
I struggle to breath, water filling my broken lungs, 
Tears mixing with the salty sea, swallowing my body in it's roiling currents
Breaking down the elements into a dust,...

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OUR ABILITIES DISCOVERED

I beg  of the human race re. our effects on mother nature.

Help is what she needs, her abilities slighted
Atrocities committed by man impeding her adventure.
Verily, all things are so bad, and must...

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It’s the year 4000 and chef Shapid Gu uses her Mac to create images of meals to enable customers to magically produce them right in front of them on their table, once they’ve transferred money...

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A French Narrative Poem: A wren comes to rest on a reed after the storm – Dialogue between the bird and the shrub. Translation of Rene Etiemble’s poem: Narration Française

(The very first poem composed by...

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A young maiden fair and slender of great beauty and rose complexion
Was gathering wild flowers in a forest when an angel to her appeared
Gently she flew down and softly whispered in the virgin maiden’s ear
You...

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The proverbial victim immortalized forever
Seeing Prince Charming when you gazed into his eyes, but, beyond your 
delusion stood Satan himself fantasizing about how he was to devour your flesh.
Sibyl's true love for Dorian did not...

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I.
When he was born he was named Reid Gibson,
and his parents weren’t the richest of folk,
didn’t have money to buy land back east,
so off to the great frontier they did go.

This was way back in...

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We decide to hunt in the night as our prey leaves a trail 
With my pride on the line I must bring it down without fail 
My pack leader’s orders are absolute only for this...

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In the court of public opinion
                             ...

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Tears of such just this a random thought
Sadness or joys for the fleshy beating heart
Unseemly unseeking I'm not looking straight forward
Lamented chess piece ivory casted glass on the board now

In seeking my forwarded righteous mind...

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Somewhere behind you
Lays a boy who needs a friend
With a broken dream and a loose end

Somewhere behind you
Lays a man inflicted with affliction
And a little girl that needs affection

Somewhere behind you
A lady is fully dressed...

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IT'S BEEN A BUSY SEASIDE SUMMER DAY..
     WHILE THE SUN WAS AT IT'S HEIGHT AND BURNING
     UP THE DAY...
     ON THE BEACH THEY'RE...

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Baby birds, it's said, are born not knowing 
their notes. They learn them from their mother's 
throats in the way children learn their ABCs 
at parental knees, muh muh muh becoming mother, 
da da da,...

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Base Ball

Give me basically any ball and I love it
                         ...

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