Towers

by Leslie Mellichamp

Proudly flash our towers in the sun,

Temples earth has never felt before;
Intricate, aloof—no taint of soil
Desecrates a polished corridor.

Doubtless we will build them to the end,

Forgetting or ignoring that their stem
Rests only upon earth. An earth that may
But shudder in its dream and swallow them.

Whistle on, twilight whippoorwill,

solemn evangelist
of loneliness
― MatsuoBasho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Neglect
by Michael R. Burch

What good are your tears?

They will not spare the dying their anguish.
What good is your concern
to a child sick of living, waiting to perish?

What good, the warm benevolence of tears

without action?
What help, the eloquence of prayers,
or a pleasant benediction?

Before this day is gone,

how many more will die
with bellies swollen, wasted limbs,
and eyes too parched to cry?

I fear for our souls

as I hear the faint lament
of their souls departing ...
mournful, and distant.

How pitiful our "effort,"

yet how fatal its effect.
If they died, then surely we killed them,
if only with neglect.
 An empty road
lonelier than abandonment:
this autumn evening
― MatsuoBasho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I Pray Tonight
by Michael R. Burch

I pray tonight
the starry light
might
surround you.

I pray
by day
that, come what may,
no dark thing confound you.

I pray ere the morrow

an end to your sorrow.
May angels' white chorales
sing, and astound you.

I expect to pass this way but once;

any good therefore that I can do,
or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature,
let me do it now.
Let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.
— Etienne Griellet

We live upon one another according

to the law, ancient and timeless.
Let us live thus in loving-kindness.
— Khalil Gibran

... go my friend, bestow your love

even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen ...
— Jalaluddin Rumi, translated by Nader Khalili
I am convinced
That if all mankind
Could only gather together
In one circle
Arms around each other's shoulders
And dance, laugh and cry
Together
Then much
of the tension and burden
of life
Would fall away
In the knowledge that
We are all children
Needing and wanting
Each other's
Comfort and
Understanding
We are all children
Searching for love
— Leonard Nimoy

Spring has come:

the nameless hill
lies shrouded in mist
― MatsuoBasho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch