Distant Coasts

A squall has struck the sea afar off.
You can feel it quiver
Over the paper parasol
With which she shields her face;

In the drawn-together skirts of her robes,
As she turns to meet it.


On the Banks of the Sumida

Windy evening of autumn,
By the grey-green swirling river,
People are resting like still boats
Tugging uneasily at their cramped chains.

Some are moving slowly
Like the easy winds:

Brown-blue, dull-green, the villages in the distance
Sleep on the banks of the river:
The waters sullenly clash and murmur.
The chatter of the passersby,
Is dulled beneath the grey unquiet sky.