Long Chrysanthemum Poems

Zen Death Haiku

Brittle cicada shell,
little did I know
you were my life!
—Shuho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Returning
as it came,
this naked worm.
—Shidoken, translation by Michael R. Burch

As dew glistens
on a lotus leaf,
so too I soon must vanish.
—Shinsui,...

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The first soft snow: 
leaves of the awed jonquil 
bow low
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

Come, investigate loneliness! 
a solitary leaf
clings to the Kiri tree
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

The cheerful-chirping cricket
contends gray...

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Dusk-gliding swallow, 
please spare my small friends
flitting among the flowers! 
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

A bee emerging
from deep within the peony's hairy recesses
flies off, sated
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

That dying cricket,...

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Poems about Butterflies and Bees



Flight
by Michael R. Burch

It is the nature of loveliness to vanish
as butterfly wings, batting against nothingness
seek transcendence...



Album
by Michael R. Burch

I caress them—trapped in brittle cellophane—
and I see how young they were,...

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Grasses wilt:
the braking locomotive
grinds to a halt
—Yamaguchi Seishi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, translation by Michael R. Burch

The first soft snow:
leaves of the awed jonquil
bow...

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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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Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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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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Regret
by Michael R. Burch

Regret,
a bitter
ache to bear . . .

once starlight
languished
in your hair . . .

a shining there
as brief
as rare.

Regret . . .
a pain
I chose to bear . . .

unleash
the torrent
of your hair . ....

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In the ancient Empire of the Chrysanthemum Throne, horsemen riders from the southern regions, their steel swords close to their sides, clang heavily to their waist as they ride hard to the capital. Before their...

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Continued From I Had No Clue It Was Valentines Day Part  I
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I was just in time to get my taste back, I wanted something sweet to eat
I continued walking until I reached the place...

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The rest of this poem continued in Part 2
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I had to get out from behind the wall so that my spirit could grow tall
I had to get out from behind the wall to breathe fresh...

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Feeding the soul glimpses of grace,
Treasured hope and lasting light, feelings
Forever penetrating the soul who knows…
Love is like the most beautiful star, glowing
Always showing its intentions, bound by emotions
Yet colored in hues of the most...

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AUTUMNAL

            Clean clear cerulean sky calls Autumn after rainy season.
              Curtains...

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WITHIN THE BRIGHTEST NIGHT (Part 11)

He placed the flower back in the middle of the floor. He walked back over to the door. There was a handle on the other side.
I'll open it.

He lifted the...

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WITHIN THE BRIGHTEST NIGHT (Part 11)

He placed the flower back in the middle of the floor. He walked back over to the door. There was a handle on the other side.
I'll open it.

He lifted the...

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Meet at the Cemetery
This is where I live
Meet me at the cemetery to make your final bid
One suitcase and one long gown
This is where I am bound
Bones and bones meet  with bones
Dead bones, dried...

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 “looking back, I’m ashamed of what I was
I’m different now, though not without flaws
Each crest becomes a trough, as we move on
God slowly steers soul towards a new dawn” Unseeking Seeker 

Life is like...

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I preach to others to write and sing,
to soothe the pain that rises like fog over a mountain,
I lend them my ears,
baptizing my tattered sheet of paper in their crystal tears,
their poetry and music whisper...

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Hiroshima Poems 2

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.
-Michael R. Burch, "Epitaph for a Child of Hiroshima"



The intense heat and light of the Hiroshima...

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“50 Words for Poe: Automata”





Haunted eyes of an automaton
the monkey grinds his music
outside the Magic Theatre
Harry looks on

"For Madmen Only"

He enters of his own volition.

Boxcars he rolls
Double Sixes! the Macabre Maestro
conducts his orchestra
Hermine still sings

A...

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These are poems about storms, poems about squalls, poems about tempests...



Squall
by Michael R. Burch

There, in that sunny arbor,
in the aureate light
filtering through the waxy leaves
of a stunted banana tree,

I felt the sudden monsoon of your...

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These are poems about storms, poems about squalls, poems about tempests...



Dark-bosomed clouds
pregnant with heavy thunder ...
the water breaks
—Michael R. Burch



Squall
by Michael R. Burch

There, in that sunny arbor,
in the aureate light
filtering through the waxy leaves
of a...

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Are you the butterfly
while in my dreams
I flit after Soshi?
—Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

It's not at all anxious to bloom,
the plum tree at my gate.
—Kobayashi Issa, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The red...

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