Pearls plucked
the oyster shells
lie heaped in mounds
showing us
the aftermath of treasures
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
Saigyo
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
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
on what one tries to leave behind by Saigyo
Why should my heart
still harbor
this passion for cherry flowers,
I who thought
I had put all that behind me?
translated by Hiroaki Sato & Burton Watson
a tanka by Saigyo
Little boat with no treadboard
crossing the straits,
take care!
The hail pelts wildly
and the swift wind sweeps in
translated by Burton Watson & Hiroaki Sato
Leonard Durso 