This is not the moon,
Nor is this the spring,
Of other springs,
And I alone
Am still the same.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
9th Century Japanese poet
poem by Ariwara No Narihari
I have always known
That at last I would
Take this road, but yesterday
I did not know that it would be today.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth
a tanka by Ariwara No Narihira
Though winds blow,
coloring the
autumn bush clover,
my heart is no grass or leaf
that changes hue