Long Tanka Poems

The Original Sin: Rhyming Haiku!
 
Haiku
should never rhyme:
it’s a crime!
-Michael R. Burch
 
The herons stand,
sentry-like, at attention ...
rigid observers of some unknown command.
-Michael R. Burch
 
Late
fall;
all
the golden leaves turn black underfoot:
soot
-Michael R. Burch
 
Dry leaf...

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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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To a Daughter More Precious than Gems
by Otomo no Sakanoue no Iratsume
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Heaven's cold dew has fallen—
and thus another season arrives.
Oh, my child living so far away,
do you pine for me...

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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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~ Seek  The Lord  Everyday~ 
(Double Tanka) 


Extend God's  Love now 
Show to  others the right way 
In  bad  times  just  Pray 
Don't let  worries ...

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~ God  Sees  It  All  ~
( Double Tanka   )


~O~


God just sees it all
You can be sure He sees you
He sees you and me
God knows everything  you do
Your lifes...

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~ God  Sees  It  All ~
(Double Tanka)


God just sees it all
You can be sure He sees you
He sees you and me
God knows everything  you do
Your lifes open'd  book to Him

Lord...

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~Eternally And More ~
(Tanka Suite)



You just give us all
And Your Salvation is the best
With You all  is  Great
I can do what's impossible 
You're  so beautiful

~0~

My  soul  rests on You
You're giver...

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~ Let's Thank God ~
 ( Tanka )



 Let's thank God for all

 His presence is always there

 Lets say a prayer

 Praise Him endlessly for all

 He gives us each day.



 Dorian Petersen Potter
...

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~ Eternally ~
 (Tanka Suite)


 Lord,  You  give us  all
 And your  Salvation is the best
 With You all is great
 I can do what's impossible 
 You're so  wonderful!

...

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Crazy Horse Monument

Up there! On the Black Hills Mountain, 1
A work in progress sculptured in granite,
Of a stern faced warrior, strong and determined, 2
Unadorned in a war bonnet, with his hair flowing in the wind,
And...

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Haiku Variations
by Michael R. Burch

This is a poem composed of haiku-like stanzas:


Variations on the Seasons I
by Michael R. Burch

Lift up your head
dandelion,
hear spring roar!

How will you tidy your hair
this near
summer?

Leave to each still night
your lightest...

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hearken to the sound
of reality come round
crowing to the sun
a brand new day just begun
much more mundane than profound

the universe hums
until eternity comes
shifting light plasma
moves through sparse cosmic miasma
the interstellar stanza

universe springs forth
actual mountains of...

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Philipp Reis (Deutsch/ English/ Español   (Sentanka)

Übertragung von Sprache
Mit den einfachsten Mitteln
Über große Entfernung 

Versagt blieb ihm der Erfolg
Viel zu früh kam sein Tod


Transmission of  voice
By using the simplest means
Over long distances 

Success...

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The following is a tribute to all Native Americans. Please check the footnotes for
unfamiliar words.

A lonely man riding a tashunke
Toward the anapo
Where the yellow-gowned prince
Rises majestically
With an army of golden spears
Aimed at desert’s sandy heart
The...

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This is for you, Mystic Rose,
The closest cyber encounter family tree, my spree
Harry Horsman, Sara K, summer's gone, let's haiku and play.
Achoo contest, butterflies, Parise Pariku, and the awesomeness of Michael J. 
Andrea Dietrich, Debbie...

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   WATER TANKA

                 Water in Kettle
           ...

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*WITHOUT THE SOUP.......

                                ...

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Wrath
Here I stand, upon
This hill, this hell of gunshots,
Pouring blood, whiskey,
Cadavers made into walls;
Unashamed generals lead
Color-adorned men
To untimely demises,
No food, no water,
But you must not leave The Cause,
For you have been called to fight
On the...

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He had do fight all odds
A man of unbreakable idealism
Alone with his ideas

A mysterious death at high sea
The truth will never be known
--------------------------------------------------
Gegen alle Widerstände
Ein Mann mit ungebrochenem Idealismus
Alleine mit seinen Ideen

Mysteriöser Tod auf hoher...

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I walk outside and I see chaos
People killing people
War between the nations
And war in our own backyards
Kids exploding at school
And destroying our young life
Destruction all around us
The lost innocence of people
Where has it gone
Who can...

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A Crystalline blooms upon the cold                             ...

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   We Danced  written by Poet John Heck

I penned a couplet for you today.
Rather, a quill manipulated
my hand and scrawled mendacity.
The misanthrope's who read the ode
applauded with flippers on.

Such insight. Such depth.

Mussolini...

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Meg often told Josh
to try to be less reckless
but Josh had panache
when dealing with dangerous
too often being feckless

since days of sixth grade
their hands often intertwined
Meg and Josh displayed
how their main wants were aligned
though to harm...

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