Long Thatched Poems

The first soft snow: 
leaves of the awed jonquil 
bow low
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

Come, investigate loneliness! 
a solitary leaf
clings to the Kiri tree
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

The cheerful-chirping cricket
contends gray...

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Dusk-gliding swallow, 
please spare my small friends
flitting among the flowers! 
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

A bee emerging
from deep within the peony's hairy recesses
flies off, sated
—Matsuo Basho translation by Michael R. Burch

That dying cricket,...

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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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IN THE WILD

Early morning, we go for a drive,
An awesome feeling as we arrive,
At our camp gate which, opens 
At 6 o’clock, 
Now we are in the African bush
Which, will unlock,
Moments that we have missed...

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IN THE WILD 
( Re Post)

Early one morning, we begin our drive,
An awesome feeling as we arrive,
At our camp gate which, opens 
At six o’clock, 
Now we are in the African bush
Which, will unlock,
Moments that...

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Living in a war- wrecked, grass thatched hut,                           ...

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I was relaxing in my sunroom, one very peaceful afternoon,
Enjoying the fables of Aesop, and all the flowers abloom.

The view from the many windows, was gold sunshiny delight,
With blossoms and rich greenery, and many birds...

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The thunder struck and the heavy rains came,
He struggled for survival, fought hard.
The downpour wouldn’t stop, the streets now flooded,
the man now lay unconscious on a boulevard.

The next morning, the Sun couldn’t rise,
the clouds overpowered...

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*LETTER TO  MAMA*

Iye omo to r'ewa 
Iya ni iya mi owon
I know you wonder if your  prayers don't ascend to heavens
You keep asking if the promises won't come true
You're beginning to doubt the...

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In 1920, my father, 16, was a guest of the British government. He was a prisoner of their forces occupying Ireland at the time, a group called the Black and Tans.

One day he and seven...

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Omalinze the great, the maker of rain
You are the beauty of the day, a mighty man
Whose muse keep me going in the journey of life.
My humble appreciation to the gods for a man of you...

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Red Sunsets On The Blue Hills

What of soft red sunsets on the blue hills
Or true love found in sweet dreams of the light
Just as night frights give deeper cold chills
Crimson sunsetting views show heaven's might.

Such...

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Who would milk the Tigress
				
                				    wears no armour    gasmask
				pail within squat thighs
					nor bloodless...

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What a busy day it was today, hospitals needing extra
Staff as the pandemic increases in rate, numbers and deaths,
My desk is cluttered, a challenge as two of our
Recruitment staff are off sick, one with Covid.
I’m...

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NDIDI (PATIENCE IS GOLDEN)

Patience said:
"Whatever my old man says."
So,
I saw the wise, bald, old man
In his thatched mud hut
Loin cloth knotted 
Around his shoulders 
The whiff of (snuff)
Saturating the atmosphere

He googled me
Between the rims 
Of...

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ZEN DEATH HAIKU XII

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

Both victor and vanquished are dewdrops:
flashes of light
briefly illuminating the void.
—Ouchi Yoaka, loose translation/interpretation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael...

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I’m sure you’ve heard of the Great King Arthur and Lancelot’s well-known fame.
But there was yet another knight, of great glory and great fame, never named.
His name was whispered constantly, everywhere, around those hollowed halls.
For...

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It was 6.15, in the morning, 
I was in a deep sleep, 
The rising sun pierced the thatched roof and made my skin burn,
I wrapped the blanket tight   - no use it was...

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for Granny Letchumi (b. fin 19th C. - d. 1978)

Once i was a prince in your highbeamed palm-thatched house
  timber and stone
   of hardened mud and cold green shiny cement
in your village...

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I glimpse the tidal waves, rise high,
Sweaty brows drip, a dry.
surf boarders and  dipper are so many,
dolphin rides touts coerce you for just a few penny.

red vested lifeguards always on their toes,
A breath of...

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Part Three

  ...swishing away with your sunshrivelled burgundy knotty arms with broad disdainful harvesting sweeps the cobras come out to water in the sweltering heat by the thatched fly-buzzed hole

your low under-the-breath warning tones...

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It stands alone four square, white-washed straw-thatched, 
small window panes, black frames, and out back chickens hatched, 
pecking weedy ground around a single willow.
Set just a little back from single country lane, 
high-hedged between the...

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In the bay of icy mists, the viking ghost ships arrive, sails set full ahead,
Crashing anchors rattle loose, plunging beneath the cold murky surf,
As the hailing horns of the dead, announce to their lord, Odin,...

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headland harbored primitive biota abut
mint for exotic sole terrain sustaining 
sole terrain sustaining seeds, spores, spermatozoa, ova 
   seeds, spores, spermatozoa, ova , et cetera gut
preserved within mine follicular pores, sans

I secured per...

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“Wandering through empty and crowded streets with no destination in sight and sleeping under the sky with the fire burning inside was my life, the life of a vagabond. Survival is a funny game and...

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