Long Locomotive Poems

Poems about the Coronavirus I


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...

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R.I.P.
by Michael R. Burch

When I am lain to rest
and my soul is no longer intact, 
but dissolving, like a sunset
diminishing to the west...

and when at last
before His throne my past
is put to test
and the demons...

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These are translations of some of the oldest Japanese waka, which evolved into tanka, renga and haiku. 

While you decline to cry,
high on the mountainside
a single stalk of plumegrass wilts.
—O no Yasumaro (circa 711), translation...

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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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My most popular poems on the Internet (I)

A number of my poems and translations have gone viral, according to Google, and some have been copied onto hundreds to thousands of web pages. That’s a lot...

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Look up in the sky ! It’s a bird ! It’s a plane.
It’s Superman !
More powerful than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This fearless...

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A Brief For The Defense 

Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies 
are not starving someplace, they are starving 
somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. 
But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants....

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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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The Castle On White Otter Lake

That rustic, old log castle
Stands facing the lake.
Built by hand, by one man
To acknowledge his presence,
In a changing world, he felt
He could not participate in.
And so chose to live like...

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Allegheny rail train has been rolling along since dawn.
I can hear the patchy sounds of the horn ushered by the wind.
Sounds at first are muffled but become distinct as the train gets closer.

Gulls hovering over...

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Sunny, hot, humid, summer morning, taking my first train ride
 I'm so excited and it's thrilling can't wait to go north where it's cool 
to stay with my grandpa and grandma.
Ma and pa say I'm...

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Wickedry the poetry that refuses to let me sleep in a hammock on the river of spiritual revival
Wickedry I tell you ... What dares keep me awake
Aggressive in the most gentle way...
My soul has millions...

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(Historical train-ride on the first Transcontinental Railroad in 1870 from Omaha to Ogden aboard the Union Pacific Railroad)     © 2009 (Jim Sularz)


I can hear the whistle blowing, 
two short bursts, it’s...

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As I walked holding my overnight bag,
towards the steam locomotive,
the air in the hot night so sultry and steamy,
my clothes clung to me as I boarded,
the train steward showed me
to my cabin which had a...

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It was a long journey and Martha’ flood gates had been closed for far too long

Altona Station and the 1.01 expected from Hannover was nowhere near in time

In her mind the intricate roof of the...

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Sitting on a rusted blue bench the sun blew down on me a cool 
     green and yellow as the afternoon tucked me into 
     bed, ...

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There are only a certain amount of
the truly good things life has to offer 
1 single person can expect to experience in one's lifetime given our human limitations

Like a cancer patient hearing a doctor tell...

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Exercising belief about unknowns.
Makes sense to take your best guess.
Using history, numbers, extrapolation.
Getting the trajectory right for re-entry.
Few dissenters left for climate change, evolution.
Nuclear power brings a process to earth
that occurs only in space. Dangerous
but...

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Have you ever wondered what a Dream Vacation would be like?
I have this chance to ponder.
I could fly anywhere, but I would rather take a 'Sleeping Car Train' to my destination. I have never travelled...

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My path beyond the shores of time
from life to there are maritime ripples.
Harrowing blades of rain
hammered from storm-clouds shatter puddles
of glass to rolling streams of echoes,
Misery’s trail towards cleansing waters:

A bloody throat gasping for water...

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Part 1

Once upon a time,
And very long ago.
Lived a rabbit and a tortoise,
Or so the story goes.
And if you have the time
Take a seat, pull up a stool,
And I'll tell you of the day
Tortoise took...

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I wrote a song last night,
Oh yes I did,
The bittersweet words came to me 
As fast as a locomotive train...

About a girl from the wrong side of town,
Shooting up smack to calm her down,
She was...

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Its whispering gentle 
 through breeze to leaves
rustling each to a frenzied clamor
 Can you hear the heightened sound?
Inaudible then so loud...so Loud!!
  So loud you cant hear at all
As the days slip past...

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Its whispering gentle 
 through breeze to leaves
rustling each to a frenzied clamor
 Can you hear the heightened sound?
Inaudible then so loud...so Loud!!
  So loud you cant hear at all
As the days slip past...

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Poet: Ken Jordan  (Story)
Story: Old Smoky Number 9
Edited by: Sparkle Jordan
written: November/2012

There's a mystic breeze softly 
flowing down a  dirt road not 
far from where I live.  In a way, 
it's very spiritual to see...

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