Long Ruffles 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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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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Conditions were harsh out in Kansas,
For the children and Sarah and Paul.
Neighbors and friends packed up and were gone;
Headed west they could hear fortune's call.
Never sure year to year of the harvest,
So their talents were...

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"Dream 1: 4 Weeks in Positano"



Kisses long linger warm lips tasted intense
so sweet like cured Valencia Oranges
lips liquored triple sec not dry drunk on love
softly grazed, then held long

slow, deep, warm and wet

The story is...

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"By definition, a ghost is unable to bonk anybody --
save the believer in ghosts."
-- a Rational exorcist of all no things "supernatural" 
  
*   *   *
   
Now, once...

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“The Penelope Squad”



A line of bluebirds 
tittering on a line
swaying on the winds
like comedian pageboys 
having a good time
poop in the peg bucket
words wooden and sharp
fly off with frosty notes
dirt and sherry stains
imprinted on 
Penelope’s...

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When death had nestled, a lady overwhelmed by sleep,  
Between the chasms of my being, like a butterfly in a cocoon,  
I embraced her to my chest that whispered seraphic tales,  
And...

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You came into her house through the kitchen. 
The big door in from the front porch
Hadn't been used for years;
Furniture stood hard against it.
A knock at the front door meant a stranger.

Aunt Celesta makes a...

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If anybody ever asks me about my feelings and thoughts about Life,
I would tell them how and when it all started, meeting you, that is.
I would tell them the place where and how and to...

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What’s fair is fair

I walked into Macys Department Store the other day
thinking I’d buy a few items for the summer
I entered on the first floor and was met by
counter after counter of cosmetics and perfume
with...

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If, for instance.......you might imagine it all...
Do try,... if you can.......

Pretending, perhaps, that it was long ago....
And let's say,...that you were on the brink of discovery, 
      16 years old,...

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In some strange blue green aurora borealis kind of way
my days are an aged book 
I smell of leather bindings 
spine dented
I noticed my own fingernails
tuck them under
Try not to get distracted by vanity

The O'clock...

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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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What happened to my boisterous boy,
      beloved keeper 
                     ...

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When nature wilts into 
                  a colorless haven, 
metaphors of death sprout 
     ...

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I am born into the Calvagna family, a weak frail child. 

At the age of three I tell my mother I will be a hero someday. She weeps holding me closely. 

In late August everyone...

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Contact 

Standing in a field, camera in my hand,
Scanning misty pines, haloed hill so grand.
Many miles I've traversed, now lost all sense of time,
Morning dew underfoot, dappled light is sublime.
The green plants of this earth,...

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Your walk away into the echoing stillness
Of a crimson autumn sunset
Gently stepping over the leaf-strewn forest floor
As withered leaves under your feet
Bid you soft and gentle adieu.

The wild blossoms by your wayside smile
And lend you...

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"The Familiar"



Softly ever so Softly 
on hardened paws
Nemesis 
follows the 
Red Apple 
scent of 
Her sword
 
a peony pink pocket flushed
velvet violent violet viola 
playing
warm honey dripping 
from the pocket 
it buzzes 
as if with...

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The young woman waits anxiously, backstage 
In the shadows created by the soft, velvet curtain. 
Her heart is pounding so loudly that she was sure
It could be heard by those standing around her, 
Possibly even...

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A single branch, clawed and pecked, fickle and straining,
Lonely Nestling and father, paw and peck at their home
Lonely branch, spasms in the wind
Nestling and father paw and peck, yearn and whimper
These Flightless Birds, on a...

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I write my thoughts 
on paper,
 let  ink of my soul
      glow, amidst the grief
     I carry in echoing stillness, 
   for it...

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The Boogeyman



"Lay your head down child I won't let the Boogeyman come"
another infamous Tool ballad blares out of the speakers.
"Go back to sleep, go back to sleep..."
James (now 14) hits the power button and says...

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I close my eyes and I hear a sound, 
Running water, joyful and unbound. 
Leaping and roaring, swirling and swishing, 
Loud slaps of waves crashing. 
But the chaos yet fuels peace within me, 
As I...

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When I am looking at the end of the board, my world shrinks down to that one foot at the end of the board. My hands swing gently back and forth, and back again. My...

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