Long Petalled 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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“Some Other Poet, White Iris”

When I look in the mirror what do I see?
I question existential questions and fiction, 
my eyes are the eyes of another staring back at me,
perceived through the glassy tear film...

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"The Strict Machine"




Take a note 
pick up your sharpened quill
tap dance your screen
your mind like 
a Magpie's beak 
a Silent Epiphany
One, 
Two and
Three
a Silent Jackhammer 
pneumatic drill 
Blackbirds fly off the page
they're swooping for the...

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ZEN DEATH HAIKU IV

These are my modern English translations of Japanese Zen Death Haiku. 

The moon
hovering above the snow-capped mountains
rained down hailstones
—Sekitei Hara, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, dreamlike winter butterfly: 
a puff of...

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"Psychobabble"
 


She plants the seeds
in Her mind 
through the 
fathomless
oceanful wells
of Her eyes
saltwater falls
over the unchartered
sharp edges of 
Her tight boundaries
to the playing fields
Elysian
where She waits 
impatiently 
in all Her glowing 
warm-skinned dreams
black words turn
to...

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 INSPIRED BY “SCENTED LEAVES” CONTEST SPONSPORED BY KIM RODRIGUES


Aromatic avenues with the scent of your perfume
Lingering on each leaf you grace with your presence
Those delicate feet treading the petalled pathways of his heart
Enticing a...

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The Spring Queen....... 
Delicate blooms 
Fresh and new 
Emerging colour too 

Her dress..... 
The colour of new green, 
finished off in blue 
Edged in snow drops 
They follow her too 

A walk through the trees...

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It is a peculiarity of Love’s mossy light
that once, hapless rocks drowning in their days
would be overthrown by Love’s destructive plight
and smooth-whiskered words its song to soothe
in the belly of the whale its secrets brew.

In...

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“Ascension Bleeding”



In the Time of Great Sadness
a thunderous calling 
resounds to 


The All


Individually 
like puzzle pieces 
they are slowly


Connected


energetically 
the truth experienced
no need for explanation


Internally 


From within
they are for once truly feeling 
the strange familiarity...

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"...The Secret of the Golden Flower is not only a Taoist text of Chinese yoga but also an alchemical tract. (...) it was the text of The Golden Flower that first put me in the...

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“Tall Poppies, Cactus Flowers and a Girl Not Called Betty”



All the Flamingos were called Betty
on a crowded beach somewhere 

Well heeled stuck in the quick sands of time
heads held high

like

Tall poppies 
waving, long stemmed

they are...

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Saw one blazing red leaf on the shimmering Maple,
                         On my...

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yogi under the banyan tree
                yogi under the bodhi tree
          ...

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Frozen In My Hour Glass


I pressed the button of facebook
And read- Memories Five Years Ago
An unforgettable day!
Every moment of that day
Is frozen in my hour glass
My life had taken a spin 
Everyone was in a...

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A single daisy blooms beside
the spacious path I gaily tread.
I take a glance and strangely feel
attracted to its garnished head.

And so I dip into the grass
to better see the flower's face,
or could that be a...

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At the confluence stands the sage
Directing traffic of divine centuries,
Gluons, microns, universes and the laughter bird

The laughter bird is afloat, his wings
Drip cold and soothing fractals
Morphed out of innocent play
And the desire for play
Small, large,...

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Be there a time
that flowed the aura 'neath
the breadth that holds the weight
of thee,
does beauty walks
atop your sliding granules
of trinket feet and painted nails rob few
of thee,
that once charmed
men release their girth
and loosen virtue slip...

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The pressure you bear glares at me through the man-made smoke screen
that forms the barrier between you and your diminutive audience. It’s years
since nineteen fifty-nine, yet today you can still find a niche somewhere
just to...

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BRIDAL   DRESS FOR THE HAWTHORN TREE

In  the  church  garden   fair,
One glorious  May day  near the ides  -
Blossom  on  gown  and  ...

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Leaves longing on settled limbs, tongues of green
savoring sweetened rays of saffron Sun,
claim this crowning hall a new day to be.
Mother's morning prayers hath long begun,
first, love for family and friends, naught than,
later, herself. Hail,...

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B Bewildered the Little Prince landed on Earth


S Surveyed the drought amongst plentiful riches

I Ignored the facades and gave earthlings a rose

X Xenial embrace warm welcoming and hospitable


O On the surface he seemed to be...

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From your two transparent blue oceans
Where the sky has sprinkled
Its two handfuls of dream
Wind is wild like school children
From that laughter into my dark corners
Can you please give me with your palm
Just a little bit...

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THE    HAWTHORN     BRIDAL   DRESS


Gone  the  winter of empty  arms ,  
Her  fresh  face  is  radiant  with charms.


In...

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Once, a little Spanish girl 
was given a "regalo" - 
a dainty little potted plant, 
a purple-petalled mallow. 

She set it in a sunny spot, 
beneath a southern window, 
re-housed it in an iron pot...

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Tasked to continue smooth function of cult compound 
Sixteen svelte helpers of mindless vibrant physiche
Hurl their determination found in daily frequency 
Milking cows, picking fruit, darning gowns

Draped swathes of cotton smother love worthy curves
Bunches clutched...

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