Cicada Shell (utusemi)
浪のうつせみればたまぞみだれけるひろはばそでにはかなからむや
nami no utu
se mireba tama zo
midarekeru
FiroFaba sode ni
Fakanakaramu ya |
Waves strike
The shoals-seeing jewels
Scatter,
Were I to gather them within my sleeves
How swiftly would they vanish? |
Ariwara no Shigeharu
Composed for Fujiwara no Miyoshi’s sixtieth birthday.
鶴龜もちとせののちはしらなくにあかぬ心にまかせはててむ
turu kame mo
titose no noti Fa
siranaku ni
akanu kokoro ni
makaseFatetemu |
The tortoise and the crane
After the passage of a thousand years
Meet I know not what, yet with
All the longing of my heart,
That is what I wish for you. |
Ariwara no Shigeharu
Some people say this poem was composed by Ariwara no Tokiharu.
'Simply moving and elegant'