Original Haiku and Tanka
by Michael R. Burch
These are original haiku and tanka written by Michael R. Burch, along with haiku-like and tanka-like poems inspired by the forms but not necessarily abiding by all the rules.
Dark-bosomed clouds
pregnant with heavy thunder ...
the water breaks
―Michael R. Burch
The poem above is my favorite of my original haiku. I wrote it while working on translations of haiku by the Oriental masters. Here's another one I particularly like:
one pillow ...
our dreams
merge
―Michael R. Burch
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
A snake in the grass
lies, hissing
"Trespass!"
―Michael R. Burch
Honeysuckle
blesses my knuckle
with affectionate dew
―Michael R. Burch
My nose nuzzles
honeysuckle’s
sweet nothings
―Michael R. Burch
The day’s eyes were blue
until you appeared
and they wept at your beauty.
―Michael R. Burch
The moon in decline
like my lover’s heart
lies far beyond mine
―Michael R. Burch
My mother’s eyes
acknowledging my imperfection:
dejection
―Michael R. Burch
The sun sets
the moon fails to rise
we avoid each other’s eyes
―Michael R. Burch
There are more rhyming haiku later on this page ...
Iffy Coronavirus Haiku
yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #1
by michael r. burch
plagued by the Plague
i plague the goldfish
with my verse
yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #2
by michael r. burch
sunflowers
hang their heads
embarrassed by their coronas
I wrote the poem above after having a sunflower arrangement delivered to my mother, who is in an assisted living center and can’t have visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. I have been informed the poem breaks haiku rules about personification, etc.
Homework (yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #3)
by michael r. burch
Dim bulb overhead,
my silent companion:
still imitating the noonday sun?
yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #4
by michael r. burch
Spring fling—
children string flowers
into their face masks
yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #5
by michael r. burch
the Thought counts:
our lips and fingers
insulated by plexiglass ...
yet another iffy coronavirus haiku #6
by michael r. burch
masks, masks
everywhere
and not a straw to drink ...
Dark Cloud, Silver Lining
by Michael R. Burch
Every corona has a silver lining:
I’m too far away to hear your whining,
and despite my stormy demeanor,
my hands have never been cleaner!
New World Order (last in a series and perhaps a species)
by Michael R. Burch
The days of the dandelions dawn ...
soon man will be gone:
fertilizer.
Untitled Haiku
Dark-bosomed clouds
pregnant with heavy thunder ...
the water breaks
―Michael R. Burch
one pillow ...
our dreams
merge
―Michael R. Burch
Crushed grapes
surrender such sweetness!
A mother’s compassion.
―Michael R. Burch
My footprints
so faint in the snow?
Ah yes, you lifted me.
―Michael R. Burch
An emu feather
still falling?
So quickly you rushed to my rescue.
―Michael R. Burch
The sun warms
a solitary stone.
Let us abandon no one.
―Michael R. Burch
The eagle sees farther
from its greater height—
our ancestors’ wisdom
―Michael R. Burch
The ability
to disagree agreeably—
civility.
―Michael R. Burch
She bathes in silver
..……. afloat ……..
on her reflections
—Michael R. Burch
Celebrate the New Year?
The cat is not impressed,
the dogs shiver.
—Michael R. Burch
NOTE: Cats are seldom impressed by human accomplishments, while the canine members of our family have always hated fireworks and other unexpected loud noises.
Variations on Fall
Farewells like
falling
leaves,
so many sad goodbyes.
―Michael R. Burch
Falling leaves
brittle hearts
whisper farewells
―Michael R. Burch
Autumn leaves
soft farewells
falling ...
falling ...
falling ...
―Michael R. Burch
Autumn leaves
Fall’s farewells
Whispered goodbyes
―Michael R. Burch
Variations on the Seasons
by Michael R. Burch
Mother earth
prepares her nurseries:
spring greening
The trees become
modest,
coy behind fans
Wobbly fawns
have become the fleetest athletes:
summer
Dry leaves
scuttle like *****:
autumn
*
The sky
shivers:
snowfall
each
translucent flake
lighter than eiderdown
the entire town entombed
but not in gloom,
bedazzled.
Variations on Night
Night,
ice and darkness
conspire against human warmth
―Michael R. Burch
Night and the Stars
conspire against me:
Immensity
―Michael R. Burch
in the ice-cold cathedral
prayer candles ablaze
flicker warmthlessly
―Michael R. Burch
Variations on the Arts
by Michael R. Burch
Paint peeling:
the novel's
novelty wears off ...
The autumn marigold's
former glory:
allegory.
Human arias?
The nightingale frowns, perplexed.
Tone deaf!
Where do cynics
finally retire?
Satire.
All the world’s
a stage
unless it’s a cage.
To write an epigram,
cram.
If you lack wit, scram.
Haiku
should never rhyme:
it’s a crime!
Video
dumped the **** tube
for YouTube.
Anyone
can rap:
just write rhythmic crap!
Variations on Lingerie
by Michael R. Burch
Were you just a delusion?
The black negligee you left
now merest illusion.
The clothesline
quivers,
ripe with unmentionables.
The clothesline quivers:
wind,
or ghosts?
Variations on Love and Wisdom
by Michael R. Burch
Wise old owls
stare myopically at the moon,
hooting as the hart escapes.
Myopic moon-haunted owls
hoot as the hart escapes
The myopic owl,
moon-intent, scowls;
my rabbit heart thunders ...
Peace, wise fowl!
Tanka
All the wild energies
of electric youth
captured in the monochromes
of an ancient photobooth
like zigzagging lightning.
―Michael R. Burch
The plums were sweet,
icy and delicious.
To eat them all
was perhaps malicious.
But I vastly prefer your kisses!
―Michael R. Burch
A child waving ...
The train groans slowly away ...
Loneliness ...
Somewhere in the distance gusts
scatter the stray unharvested hay ...
―Michael R. Burch
How vaguely I knew you
however I held you close ...
your heart’s muffled thunder,
your breath the wind―
rising and dying.
―Michael R. Burch
Miscellanea
sheer green stockings
queer green beer
St. Patrick's Day!
―Michael R. Burch
cicadas chirping everywhere
singing to beat the band―
surround sound
―Michael R. Burch
Regal, upright,
clad in royal purple:
Zinnia
―Michael R. Burch
Love is a surreal sweetness
in a world where trampled grapes
become wine.
―Michael R. Burch
although meant for market
a pail full of strawberries
invites indulgence
―Michael R. Burch
late November;
skeptics scoff
but the geese no longer migrate
―Michael R. Burch
as the butterfly hunts nectar
the generous iris
continues to bloom
―Michael R. Burch
Childless
by Michael R. Burch
How can she bear her grief?
Mightier than Atlas, she shoulders the weight
of one fallen star.
Ascendance Transcendence
by Michael R. Burch
Breaching the summit
I reach
the horizon’s last rays.
The Reason for the Rain
by Michael R. Burch
The day’s eyes were blue
until you appeared
and they wept at your beauty.
Imperfect Perfection
by Michael R. Burch
You're too perfect for words―
a problem for a poet.
Intimations
by Michael R. Burch
Show me your most intimate items of apparel;
begin with the hem of your quicksilver slip ...
Expert Advice
by Michael R. Burch
Your ******* are perfect for your lithe, slender body.
Please stop making false comparisons your hobby!
Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch
It's not that every leaf must finally fall,
it's just that we can never catch them all.
Laughter's Cry
by Michael R. Burch
Because life is a mystery, we laugh
and do not know the half.
Because death is a mystery, we cry
when one is gone, our numbering thrown awry.
The Reason for the Rain (II)
by Michael R. Burch
The sky was blue
until you appeared
and it wept at your beauty.
Here's a poem composed of haiku-like stanzas:
Dandelion
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 affliction,
dandruff.
Soon you will free yourself:
one shake
of your white mane.
Now there are worlds
into which you appear
and disappear
seemingly at will
but invariably blown
wildly, then still.
Gasp at the bright chill
glower
of winter.
Icicles splinter;
sleep still an hour,
till, resurrected in power,
you lift up your head,
dandelion.
Hear spring roar!
More Rhyming Haiku
Dry leaf flung awry:
bright butterfly,
goodbye!
―Michael R. Burch
brief leaf flung awry ~
bright butterfly, goodbye!
―Michael R. Burch
leaf flutters in flight ~
bright, O and endeavoring butterfly,
goodbye!
―Michael R. Burch
a soaring kite flits
into the heart of the sun?
Butterfly & Chrysanthemum
―Michael R. Burch
The girl with the pallid lips
lipsticks
into something less comfortable
―Michael R. Burch
I am a traveler
going nowhere,
but my how the gawking bystanders stare!
―Michael R. Burch
NEW ORIGINAL HAIKU ADDED 7-25-2025
Such a frigid winter day,
our words
also icy
—Michael R. Burch
Her love,
sheer and queer as gossamer,
did not adhere...
—Michael R. Burch
I dream of love
as bankers dream
of repossessing Ferraris.
—Michael R. Burch, after Anais Vionet
The hummingbird fans an iris:
myriad acts of kindness
go unnoticed.
—Michael R. Burch
Sun sinking into the sea
who taught you
how to swim?
—Michael R. Burch
Yet another leaf
assumes its autumnal splendor
then falls.
—Michael R. Burch
Fireflies
thinking to illuminate the darkness:
poets.
—Michael R. Burch
Stars conspire
astral mischief
but only the silent moon witnesses.
—Michael R. Burch
Chickadees squabbling,
denying each others’ rights:
another unholy war.
—Michael R. Burch
Licentious breezes
whisper intimations to quivering leaves:
nightfall.
—Michael R. Burch
Late autumn:
fleeting words increasingly
missing syllables.
—Michael R. Burch
Life
insists on pruning
its gaudiest wildflowers.
—Michael R. Burch
Her lips
extravagant embers
smoldering beneath my kiss.
—Michael R. Burch
The bees have returned
along with the rebellious butterflies:
Spring!
—Michael R. Burch
Sudden snowfall:
all traces of you
erased.
—Michael R. Burch
A leaf falls
—disaster!—
until it ***** its wings.
—Michael R. Burch
At the end of a long day
my pillow
gently embraces me.
—Michael R. Burch
The tyrant’s statue:
dubious accolades,
doves deposit denials.
—Michael R. Burch
Silence is golden
especially to the younger
when you’re olden.
—Michael R. Burch
Baby blues?
My checkbook boo-hoo-hoos.
They keep outgrowing their shoes!
—Michael R. Burch
They’ll pick up and move on,
Soon forgetting I’m gone.
—Michael R. Burch
Deer still sporting their winter coats?
Spring’s delinquent!
—Michael R. Burch
The most likely cause
of gauze
is dandelion “ahs!”
because
they shed applause.
—Michael R. Burch
The pregnant mother’s
belly swells
in concert with the fulling moon.
—Michael R. Burch
Live among the blossoms while you can;
grow straight and tall and fairer than them all...
Oh, never fall!
—Michael R. Burch, "Exhortation"
So many snowflakes
whirling a-swirl:
confusion
—Michael R. Burch
Starlight evening:
the universe
twinkles its mysteries...
—Michael R. Burch
Another New Year...
the fireworks,
followed by real explosions
—Michael R. Burch
Venus,
flirting with the Moon and Mars?
Fickle gods!
—Michael R. Burch
should the sky fall,
let my last breath
praise Your existence
—Michael R. Burch
It ever was night,
yet in the darkness I found you,
shining, bright.
—Michael R. Burch
a last leaf
clinging to life
declines to fall...
—Michael R. Burch
the Universe,
dazzled by her beauty,
swoons.
—“Eclipse” by Michael R. Burch
Anxiety surrounds me
like an immense night
void of stars.
—Michael R. Burch
Loneliness engulfs me
like an immense night
void of stars.
—Michael R. Burch
Crow
perched quizzically on scarecrow:
natural comedian!
—Michael R. Burch
Autumn leaves
swirling:
dreams aloft & imperiled
—Michael R. Burch
struggle to fit
into cramped too-small shoes:
tiny haiku
—Michael R. Burch
your easy smile
brightens the day
natural as wildflowers
—Michael R. Burch
a single silver leaf
on the old oak tree:
autumn moon
—Michael R. Burch
The Ultimate Haiku Against God
by Michael R. Burch
Because you made a world
where nothing matters,
our hearts lie in tatters.
Keywords/Tags: Haiku, Tanka, coronavirus, nature, love, heart, family, mother, son, seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter, sun, moon, rhyme, rhymed, mrbhaiku
These are original haiku and tanka by Michael R. Burch.
