A vague sadness
comes with the night
stealthily and sits on my bed.
Ishikawa Takuboku
tanka 2 by Ishikawa Takuboku
Everyone’s
heading in the same direction.
And me, watching from the side.
a three line tanka by Ishikawa Takuboku
Taking off my gloves, my hands stop–
what is it?
a memory flits through my mind
translated by Hiroaki Sato
a tanka in three lines by Ishikawa Takuboku
Sadness of the lifeless sand:
rustling,
it falls through my fingers as I clutch it