Long Before dawn Poems

Yosa Buson haiku translations

On the temple’s great bronze gong
a butterfly
snoozes.
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hard to describe:
this light sensation of being pinched
by a butterfly!
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Not to worry...

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NAME: Phil Latio.

QUALIFICATIONS: LLB (Law) PhD (Medicine) & FSC (Federation Starfleet    
                    ...

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The Old Dark House

This tale of “The Old Dark House” is one that’s replete with a
most horrid sense of pure evil and macabre, and is worth being
retold each year during the deep-dark hours of All...

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THIS WORLD OF DEW

This world? 
Moonlit dew
flicked from a crane's bill.
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Seventy-one?
How long
can a dewdrop last? 
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Dewdrops beading grass-blades
die before...

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This tale of “The Old Dark House” is one that’s replete with a
most horrid sense of pure evil and macabre, and is worth being
retold each year during the deep-dark hours of All Hallows’ Eve
before the...

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This tale of “The Old Dark House” is one that’s replete with a
most horrid sense of pure evil and macabre, and is worth being
retold each year during the deep-dark hours of All Hallows’ Eve
before the...

Read More

"You really wanna know? Cause I'll tell ya if you really wanna know. You'll be thinkin' I'm crazy before I'm done, but I'll tell ya... ifn' you really wanna know."

The day started like any other,...

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The Lord is faithfull.!
Thesselonians ch 3 v 3-5

Jerimiah in the midst of the rebbelious people, had taken
Note of a sobdrly clad 'new group to his awareness' he made
Enquiry at the market stalls, and was told...

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Thiru-Valluvar on Praising the Good Qualiities of Ladies: Canto 112 - Nalam Pinainththu Uraiththal

[The poet devotes the third part of his treatise, the Thiruk-Kural to INBATHTHUPPAAL, the amorous relationship between the sexes, i.e.,  cantos...

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’Twas the night before Christmas Eve and it started to snow
And a raw bone chilling north wind was starting to blow
Mrs Claus and Santa were relaxing with a glass of mulled wine
Santa said, "I hope...

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Threatening clouds above
Send in lightning of love
I rove through raindrops of fall
Overall, I’m feeling my way through trees so tall
The air is dissipating the despair in my heart
All along, you tried to fix my heart...

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“One completed, two to go,” Lumi said to Joulupukki as he lifted the mud guard in front of them. He wanted to give Joulupukki the chance to talk if he wanted to.  His weary...

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Renee Vivien Translations


Song
by Renée Vivien
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

When the moon weeps,
illuminating flowers on the graves of the faithful,
my memories creep
back to you, wrapped in flightless wings.

It's getting late; soon we will sleep
(your eyes...

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Sometimes, I feel like I have PTSD
Depression damages me in distress
I’m somewhat mad and sad and yet glad, but it’s not rad…
It feels bad…it’s the best thing I’ve always had…my dad…
Seems to go through so...

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“The Evolution of a Broken Heart”



In thy hands, 
I gently placed it

lacking hesitation’s pleas and virtues
‘twas ne’er a time to be uncourageous
plucked somewhere from deep within
my honorable, clean gilded home where
pure intention sat regally spartan
upon...

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President Trump, 
shortly after his singularly smelly election, 
declared emphatic comparisons with Elder Republican
Abraham Lincoln.

Early on,
he described Lincoln as his kindred political soul,
admired mentor,
and the former President he was destined to most resemble
in spirit and...

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Part Two Of, Emily Dickinson, dedication series

(1.)

What Started As Bliss Has Brought Death's Black Hand
poets dedication series

As a tree full of crows looked down on my bloody head
that long dark shadow falling ever so swiftly...

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It had come, at last, today was the day
you see, it was full moon and that meant
it was time for the initiation ceremony
over the next week Mambo would complete tasks

Then he would become a man...

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Clouded vision as I wake up early morning. Just before dawn, so the neighbor's still snoring. Got 2 messages from my boss sounding ticked. So, I got up, took a shower, made my self some...

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Oh, why now? I had prayed for three more years,
Man lived, then we all die, and our resting is decided by a mortal,
Should it be with your father or mother or be by yourself?
I had...

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My Dear Son,
It’s March
I can already hear you—
small feet like birds’ wings
fluttering through the air
skipping, hopping, laughing
chasing me chasing you

your laughter—
a chorus that fills the house
sharp and sweet as a bell
tugging at the edges of...

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My tired eyes keep opening and closing
And my body sways to and fro
But something enigmatic kept me on the ground
And my spirit keeps moving up and down
A sudden indecisive feelings creeps inside
And all of a...

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Enlarged burdens held me down
Like bricks, stones and boulders down below, rising above my feet
I barged in on your progress and I’m about to drown
As if I became empty after becoming whole again…hear my heart...

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Walk with me to the gym and do the African spin; walk with me to the gym and I will show you where it all begins. The love for money, the love for culture has...

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Written 04/02/2025, for the Iron Maiden " Dance of Death" song, contest sponsored by Robert James L. 

            ******************
Scary lie shrouded in opulence ...

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