Tsui ni yuku
Michi to wa kanete
Kikishi kado
Kino kyo to wa
Omowazarishi wo
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
a tanka: Michael alone
water laps the rocks
the sun hangs high in the sky
tea cold in his glass
there is sadness in his heart
past and future beyond reach
a tanka: the borderline
to live in silence
here awake and yet asleep
on the borderline
tween living and spirit world
it is a tightrope we walk
a tanka: entering the fray
I’m losing the weight
cleaning out my old system
down to fighting trim
get myself in the right place
must soon reenter the fray
tanka 2 by Ishikawa Takuboku
Everyone’s
heading in the same direction.
And me, watching from the side.
a tanka by Ariwara No Narihara
In the end
that’s the road I’ll travel–
I’ve known it all along–
but I didn’t think I’d have to start
this very day
translated by Burton Watson
a tanka for Anthony P
music fills the room
there is whiskey in the glass
shadows on the walls
memories haunt restless minds
this mind won’t rest till morning
Leonard Durso 