Long Wearer Poems

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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Twice the night had fallen upon a sleepless slumber,
Yet again awoken by winter when the third was three in number.

I sense that a silence doth sneak ‘tween cracks of weathered wood,
Conniving with that which shadows...

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Once the night had fallen upon a sleepless slumber,
Whence the winter woke me when the third was three in number.

I sense that a wince doth lurk and wear which wicked gaze,
Of conniving shadows cast between...

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A wince doth lurk wearing which wicked gaze,
Of conniving cast shadows ‘tween my windowpanes.

Gazing through the window’s diaphanous gelid glass, 
I see a flushing fluorescent misty haze of frothy brass.

It floats aloft the frost of...

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https://youtu.be/c1gNm21YzfI


When last I visited India almost a decade ago
I recall riding on my brother's scooter 
as he drove me around town,
And I saw fully veiled Muslim women
half their faces veiled, masked in Niqab 
driving scooters,...

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His full given name is Barack Hussein Obama
The etymology of his first name, "Baraka," a Swahili word meaning "Blessed"


      It's easy to see why he's my favorite POTUS
  ...

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Frice the week along with night had fallen to sleepless slumber,
Trapped again 'tween times when thirds are three in number.

I sense a grimace gurgle in these halls of boned wall,
The aching whims and shaking limbs:...

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Do you know what it feels like to be a paperweight
like you're sitting on someone's chest
They can't move nor do you want to
pinning their arms above their head
screaming in their face to look at you...

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(A lone voice whispers)


Have you worn one of those old red coats yet

The one given by one of the invisible Riders in the silent night

The Msula

Who knows when your libido's getting wet
For the first time...

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Faith is a warm, hooded coat whose
Furry softness provides a barrier 
From the icy blasts of cold-hearted people
Who are jealous of the embrace a well-constructed winter garment provides for its wearer, me.

Love bids me open...

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I am a dare-dreamer, a mask wearer
a soul bare-r (but not always my own); a word-weaver. 
I pull at thoughts like strings. Strings of cobwebs
and cirrus, frayed dungarees and threadbare memories 
until I warp and...

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Who is that brave and noble one I have heard so much about? I saw you standing right next to him in a newspaper report about him. Do you know his agenda, his intentions, and...

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Women are like dogs, but they are not dogs.
Whatever name you call her, that name she would bare.
Should you call her a dog, don’t you expect her to act like a hare
She would certainly give...

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          You wanna know sumpin sumpin?!
   ...

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BIRDS    I    JUST      COULDN’T      BE
 
 
I couldn’t be a pigeon walking and prancing,
Like black American dancing -
Neck thrusting...

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Fasting cleanses both body and soul
It breaks you only to make you whole
Its spiritual connection plays a vital role.

Now not only the wearer knows the shoe pinches
for you get the chance to be in the...

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Some laws are crazy you will agree.
Read some of these laws and you will see.

Some laws are funny and some just absurd.
It pays to be careful how we use our words.

To keep your ass in...

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It’s again that time of the year
When words bandied are ‘Love’ ‘Romance’, and ‘My Dear’
Question popped is,
“Will you be my Valentine’?
No, nothing wrong in it
That’s fine
But to find ‘genuine’ love
And not to be scoffed
Take advice...

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Lavender turkey eggs amid purple straw hat
With fake turquoise frosting, 
She sits next to me in the hard pew
What kind of sugar ants will be parading up here now?
For I see this is real frosting...

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every day without fail he stopped at the small stall

whatever the weather and however hurried he was

his shoes did not need glow for his path was muddy

and the sweaty feet managed to moisten the leather

from...

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Meadow

Breezes ripple through the grasses bodyand depth.
 A breathing soft mass of seeded heads wave en-mass.
Multitudes of bent heads gaze around,
 Inhaled and softly released as one.

  
Meadow flowers nod in small shapes,
Stirred amongst...

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The necklace that
Sat on the nape
Of her neck
Was the most
Eye-catching thing
She ever wore
She always
Kept it on
And though inquired
On many occasions
Why she did,
She never gave
A straightforward answer
I guessed it was
Personal and private
To her and wasn’t
Ready to...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU4nDjsbxXA
HEAVEN WONDERS WHERE YOU'VE BEEN AND YOU ANSWER WITH A SILLY 
GRIN. I'VE BEEN MEDITATING ON THE WAYS OF LIFE . THIS IS MY JOURNEY
AND SO FAR, ITS VERY NICE. WE ARE IN THE THROW...

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Our earthbound concepts stifle and betray.
By living in the now, our every move’s
testimony to desires wrought in tales. 
Our actions marred by spectacular fail, 
but many lessons learned are treasure troves,
still earthbound concepts stifle and...

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In a modern life that is risqué
Pot mentality that grew and grew
One rides upon spacious freeway
With an ungenerous point of view.

The stratus to reach, man’s destiny
A monument to a nation’s pride,
No power to ride, a...

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