JAPAN
GRIEF AND THE SLEEVE
Tears in the moonlight,
You know why,
Have marred the flowers
On my rose sleeve.
Ask why.
From the Japanese of Hide-Yoshi.
DRINK SONG
The crows have wakened me
By cawing at the moon.
I pray that I shall not think of him;
I pray so intently
That he begins to fill my whole mind.
This is getting on my nerves;
I wonder if there is any of that wine left.
Japanese [Street Song].
A BOAT COMES IN
Although I shall not see his face
For the low riding of the ship,
The three armorial oak-leaves on his cloak
Will be enough.
But what if I make a mistake
And call to the wrong man?
Or make no sign at all,
And it is he?
Japanese [Street Song].
THE OPINION OF MEN
My desires are like the white snows on Fuji
That grow but never melt.
I am becoming proud of my bad reputation;
And the more men say,
We cannot understand why she loves him,
The less I care.
I am sure that in a very short time
I shall give myself to him.
Japanese [Street Song].
OLD SCENT OF THE PLUM-TREE
Remembering what passed
Under the scent of the plum-tree,
I asked the plum-tree for tidings
Of that other.
Alas ... the cold moon of spring....
From the Japanese of Fujiwara Ietaka. (1158-1237).
AN ORANGE SLEEVE
In the fifth month,
When orange-trees
Fill all the world with scent,
I think of the sleeve
Of a girl who loved me.
From the Japanese of Nari-hira.
INVITATION
The chief flower
Of the plum-tree of this isle
Opens to-night....
Come, singing to the moon,
In the third watch.
From the Japanese of a Courtesan of Nagasaki.
[THE CLOCKS OF DEATH]
In a life where the clocks
Are slow or fast,
It is a pleasant thing
To die together
As we are dying.
From the Japanese of the Wife of Bes-syo Ko-saburo Naga-haru, (sixteenth century).
GREEN FOOD FOR A QUEEN
I was gathering
Leaves of the
In springtime.
Why did the snow fall
On my dress?
From the Japanese of the Mikado Ko-ko Ten-no, (ninth century).
[THE CUSHION]
Your arm should only be
A spring night's dream;
If I accepted it to rest my head upon
There would be rumours
And no delight.
From the Japanese of the daughter of Taira-no Tsu-gu-naka.
A SINGLE NIGHT
Was one night,
And that a night
Without much sleep,
Enough to make me love
All the life long?
From the Japanese of the wife of the Mikado Sui-toka In (twelfth century).
AT A DANCE OF GIRLS
Let the wind's breath
Blow in the glades of the clouds
Until they close;
So that the beauty of these girls
May not escape.
From the Japanese of So-dzyo Hend-zyo
.
ALONE ONE NIGHT
This night,
Long like the drooping feathers
Of the pheasant,
The chain of mountains,
Shall I sleep alone?
From the Japanese of Kaik-no Motto-no Hitomaro (seventh and eighth centuries).