Anon.
THE OMEN[143]
Yes! 'twas the hour when all my hopes
Seemed idle as the dews that shake
And tremble in their lotus-cups
By deep Tsurúgi's lake—
'Twas then the omen said:—
"Fear not! he'll come his own dear love to wed."
What though my mother bids me flee
Thy fond embrace? No heed I take;
As pure, as deep my love for thee
As Kiyosúmi's lake.
One thought fills all my heart:—
When wilt thou come no more again to part?
Anon.
A MAIDEN'S LAMENT
Full oft he swore, with accents true and tender,
"Though years roll by, my love shall ne'er wax old!"
And so to him my heart I did surrender,
Clear as a mirror of pure burnished gold;
And from that day, unlike the seaweed bending
To ev'ry wave raised by the summer gust,
Firm stood my heart, on him alone depending,
As the bold seaman in his ship doth trust.