Poem – In my Desolation

In my desolation
I am as duckweed:

Cut my roots and

Take me away-would the water do it,

I should go, I think. 

Poem – I Long For Him Most

I long for him most 
during these long moonless nights. 

I lie awake, hot, 

the growing fires of passion 

bursting in my heart.
Another translation by Kenneth Rexroth:
You do not come 

On this moonless night. 

I wake wanting you. 

My breasts heave and blaze. 

My heart burns up.
Another translation:
I would meet him

But there’s no way, so on this moonless night

From my yearning the embers of my love

Send sparks leaping in my breast,

Setting my heart aflame. 

Poem – How Sad

How sad, 

to think I will end 

as only 

a pale green mist 

drifting the far fields. 

Poem – How Hollow

How hollow
Are tears upon a sleeve

In gemlets;

For mine cannot be dammed

As a surging flood! 

A Sake Barrel – Ihara Saikaku

A sake barrel,
Born without hands, makes merry —

Cherry blossom time. 

Poem – Fisher Folk

Fisher folk live
In villages; where

I know not, yet

Constant complaints to see the shore

Are all he seems to say. 

Poem – Feeling

Feeling:
This thing-most of all-is

The world of men’s

Unbreakable

Bond.