Long Ono Poems

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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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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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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Welcome to a typical 'Luau' spread. The first thing that is best to learn is the Hawaiian word, 'ono', which means, delicious. It's a word bandied about before and after food goes in your mouth....

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Ono no Komachi Translations

These are my modern English translations of the ancient Japanese poems of Ono no Komachi…

"It's over!"
Your words drizzle like dismal rains,
bringing tears,
as I wilt with my years.
—Ono no Komachi, loose translation/interpretation by...

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"The Red Chinese are using COVId-19 to destroy the economy of the United States of America!" According to Christian television and my Chinese American friend.

What was the immediate economic threat Red China unleashed upon both...

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Each and every generation Satan has had his very own candidate for the Antichrist. Roman Emperor Nero Caesar was the numero ono candidate for the Antichrist for his generation because of his terrible persecutions of...

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Sotoba Komachi is a modern Noh play by Yukio Mishima (1925-1970). Mishima's play is based on an ancient work by Kan'ami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384). The first kanji means "stupa" (the dome of a shrine) while the...

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hey danny, do you remember...

...dueling 'blind melon' acoustics
on your living room floor?
...falling asleep all afternoon
on the hammock, couch or floor?

...hanging out with yoko ono
at the lennon art show?
...painting murals in the school halls
they're still there,...

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New York, New York, the road in the fork  
   of the events, the places and folks who've buttered the pork

Like Rockefeller, Moynihan and Andrew Cuomo
   Frank Sinatra, Louie Armstrong,...

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Perfect o##
      Passions#o#
        Promise ###
        Sexy#Sexy#
       Infinite deep #
 ...

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(At 10:40pm on December 8, 1980,
John Lennon was shot and mortally
wounded on 72nd Street, New York.
Given his love of outrageous wordplay,
this poem imagines his stream-of-
consciousness utterings as the 
ambulance rushes him to hospital,
moments before his...

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Max is mad at Molly
Samantha’s sore at Seth 
Freida’s freaking out at Frodo
While  Hobbits hold their breath

Jack jokes about poor Jill
She hits him with her pail
Humpty cracks open Dumpty
For drinking all his ale

Mickey Mouse...

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Fresh water mermaids
Under a big crowned tree near the lake three land mermaids 
sat knitting swimsuits, the saw me and sat still as rabbits, I pretended
not to see them but did use the corner of...

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Welcome Michael,I am so glad that you have come to meet me,
so many things I want to share with you over this cup of coffee.

I know your poetic heart Michael,and that you're a dreamer like...

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Fred Astaire was king of tap
Biggie Smalls was huge in rap
Carson (Johnny)ruled TV
Dylan’s songs are poetry
Elvis made the girls all swoon
Frank Sinatra loved to croon
Greta Garbo hid from sight
Hitchcock gave us all a fright
Isaac Hayes’...

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~ Just thinkin' tonight ~

They're coming to take us away
  Ha, ha, ho, ho, tee, hee
The Woke Ones; ha, ha, hee, hee
  They're coming for you and me

Fluid sexual preferences, ho, ho
 ...

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After  a day of mixed hopes and disappointments 
I lay down upon my old mattress
and watch 
    the television station where thy play new age music
    and offer...

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Mean to Paula Dean

Why should we be mean to Paula Dean
To us in America is the cooking queen,
Who used a word which was a no no
I had heard from Sunny Bono and Ono.

Just because it...

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Lennon Incognito

Was is that bad John?
You’re looking like rather
White and sheepish!
Was the Beatle-mania bad enough
For you to resort to faking your own death?

Couldn’t you take your own advice 
and just imagine?

Was Yoko Ono that hard...

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Ezi enyi amaka na uwa
Ezi enyi ka nwanne ojo
Lezie enyi gi anya oge nile
Ahabula ya ka onwu na nsogbu.


Owere enyi ka nwanne ma
Obu ikwu na ibe gi na uwa 
Mgbe nsogbu di ono ya,
Na oganihu...

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Yoko heard the gun go
Off in his hands
Yoko saw the life flow
Out of her man

Yoko heard the sad moan
All across the land
Yoko is alone
To never understand

Yoko must cope
In this devil's dance 
Yoko with us lost...

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