One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse

by Fujiwara no Teika

How the night deepens. A ribbon of the whitest frost is stretched across the bridge of magpie wings the lovers will cross.

I have loved in vain and now my beauty fades like these cherry blossoms paling in the long rains of spring that I gaze upon alone.

For you, I came out to the fields to pick the first spring greens. All the while, on my sleeves a light snow falling.

I was sure you were bathed in the moonlight of dawn, but it’s a soft falling of snow that mantles you in white.

Cherry Blossoms, on this calm, lambent day of spring, why do you scatter with such unquiet hearts?

The boat is adrift, not knowing where it goes. Is the course of love like this?

Blown by the fierce winds, I am the waves that crash upon your impervious rock. Though my heart shatters, my love rages yet.

I thought I would give up my life to hold you in my arms, but after a night together, I find myself wishing that I could live for ever.

With a lonely heart, I step outside my hut and look around. Everywhere’s the same – autumn at dusk.

Since I now recall fondly the painful days of the past, if I live long, I may look back on these harsh days, too, and find them sweet and good.

The long tail of the copper pheasant trails, drags on and on like this long night alone in the lonely mountains, longing for my love.