Sweet and sad
like love overwhelmed
with long sighs,
out of the depths of the willow
little by little
the moon appears.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
Japanese poet
another untitled poem by Yosano Akiko
Purple butterflies
fly at night through my dreams.
Butterflies, tell me,
have you seen in my village
the falling flowers of the wisteria?
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
untitled poem by Yosano Akiko
I have the delusion
that you are with me
as I walk through the fields
of flowers, under the moon.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
untitled poem by Ise Tayu
Unable to sleep
I gaze at the flowers of the bush clover,
as the dew forms on them from the long night,
till suddenly before dawn
they are scattered by the wind.
translated by Kenneth Rexroth & Ikuko Atsumi
untitled tanka by Kyogoku Tamekane
The wind
that for a time blew so wildly
has died down–
what blossoms it left,
fall soft
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton atson
untitled3 by Saigyo
Pearls plucked
the oyster shells
lie heaped in mounds
showing us
the aftermath of treasures
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
on the impermanence of life by Saigyo
Drops of dew
strung on strands
of spider web–
such are the trappings
that deck out this world
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
tanka2 by Saigyo
Trailing on the wind,
the smoke of Mount Fuji
fades in the sky,
moving like my thoughts
toward some unknown end
translated by Burton Watson & Hiroaki Sato
Sent to a woman on a rainy day by Fujiwara no Shunzei
When longings are too great
and I stare
at the sky in your direction,
spring rains come down,
breaking through the mist
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
untitled tanka on sadness from Saigyo
in a mountain village
at autumn’s end–
that’s when you learn
what sadness means
in the blast of the wintry wind
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Leonard Durso 