Selections from Japanese Poetry
Just a couple of short pieces:
Lady Heguri
A thousand years, you said,
As our hearts melted.
I look at the hand you held,
And the ache is hard to bear.
from Six Tanka for Yakamochi
Lady KasaLike the pearl of dew
On the grass in my garden
In the evening shadows,
I shall be no more.Even the grains of sand
On a beach eight hundred days wide
Would not be more than my love,
Watchman of the island coast.