Because I loved someone
who didn’t love back
I wait till the
mountain echoes answer
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
9th Century Japanese poetry
anonymous tanka 10 from The Kokinshu
Like the light snow
that piles up
until it crumbles,
how often my thoughts crumble
under the weight of love
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanks 9 from The Kokinshu
On autumn nights
the dew is
colder than ever–
in every clump of grasses
the insects weep
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 8 from The Kokinshu
Orange blossoms that came
with the fifth month–
breathing their scent,
I catch the fragrance of the sleeve
of someone from long ago
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 7 from The Kokinshu
We part,
I go beyond the
endless clouds,
but would I ever let you
out of my heart?
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 6 from The Kokinshu
Even in the roaring torrent
there are quiet spots
they say–
why has my love
no stretches of calm water?
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 4 from The Kokinshu
What is constant
in this world of ours?
Yesterday’s deeps
in the Asuka River
today have turned to shallows
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 3 from the Kokinshu
If a seed is there
the pine will sprout
even among boulders;
if I love and keep on loving,
can we fail to meet?
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 2 from The Kokinshu
How often I think of it!
that boat in the morning mist
of Akashi Bay,
moving dimly dimly
out of sight beyond the islands
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
anonymous tanka 1 from The Kokinshu
Cheery flowers,
the image of
our fleeting world–
no sooner have they opened
than they begin to fall
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 