Long Unplucked Poems

Poems about Adam, Eve, Lucifer

Eden
by Michael R. Burch

Then earth was heaven too, a perfect garden.
Apples burgeoned and shone, unplucked on sagging boughs.
What, then, would the children eat?
Fruit indecently sweet,
redolent as incense, with a tempting aroma...



Outcasts
by...

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the Horror
by Michael R. Burch

the Horror lurks inside our closets
the Horror hides beneath our beds
the Horror hisses ancient curses
the Horror whispers in our heads

the Horror tells us Death is coming
the Horror tells us there’s no...

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Playmates
by Michael R. Burch
 
WHEN you were my playmate and I was yours,
we spent endless hours with simple toys,
and the sorrows and cares of our indentured days
were uncomprehended . . . far, far away ....

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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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Was never sure whether or not to laugh, smile or cry when
auntie came to tea, a matriarch she, wearing white gloves
plus purple cardigan - seven buttons tidy, top one below chin,
and a black beret perched precariously...

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I see her again.
This time painted,
As a semi-trailer ad.
Paying the rent.
For us staying unknown.
My head was down,
Bobbing away from darkness.
Tho, still sensing her beauty.
Grimacing at its lightness.
Still remembering, the question.
To her, I first asked.
"Please, miss...

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Ryokan translations of Zen Death Haiku and other Poems

First one hidden face is revealed,
then the other; thus spinning it falls,
the autumn leaf.
—Ryokan (1758-1831), loose translation by Michael R. Burch

This world:
a distant mountain echo
dying unheard in...

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That one lost their tongue
somewhere along the way
long ago, the sound,
doesn’t come out the same
anymore, so they roll it up 
like a carpet containing 
a nakedly dead body
of blunt words 
like unplucked violins
untuned to how...

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Through virgin forests 
And unplucked gems
Twisted vines
Thoughts do stem.

Stroll through winding trails
And I’m nearly planted
By the weight of glory
Pressing me into the earth.

Almost sprouting roots 
And taking up residence
In the innocence of things green.

Step back,...

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She was an angel
Falling from the sky
She heal my heart when I was about to die
And in return
I paid her back with evil coins
Her heart was broken
And it could not be mended
Night mares and grotesque...

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