Summer Insects (夏虫)
露のいのちはかなくみゆる夏虫のたれを思ひに身をこがすらん
| tsuyu no inochi hakanaku miyuru natsumushi no tare o omoi ni mi ni kogasuran | A dewdrop life So brief does seem; The summer insects: For whom might the fires of their passion Set their flesh to smouldering? |
Higo
Avoiding Heat (避暑)
おりたちてし水のさとにすみつればなつをば外にききわたるかな
| oritachite shimizu no sato ni sumitsureba natsu oba hoka ni kikiwataru kana | Descending to stand in Spring waters – at that estate Have I made my home, so Summer so far away Does sound! |
Higo
Shade beneath the Trees (樹陰)
おもふどちこのもかのもにむれゐつつ夏はこかげぞたちうかりける
| omoudochi kono mo kano mo ni mureitsutsu natsu wa kokage zo tachiukarikeru | A friendly crowd, Here and there, Flocking all together, In summer, the trees’ shadows Arise and fall all round. |
Higo
Fans (扇)
とにかくにたもとすずしくなりゆくはあふぎの風に秋やたつらん
| tonikaku ni tamoto suzushiku nariyuku wa ōgi no kaze ni aki ya tatsuran | Somehow My sleeves so cool Are turning; Does the breeze from my fan Bring the start of autumn? |
Higo
An allusive variation on: Horikawa hyakushu 540.
Pinks (瞿麦)
露はらひをる人もなき故郷にひとりのみぬるとこなつのはな
| tsuyu harai oru hito mo naki furusato ni hitori nomi nuru tokonatsu no hana | To brush away the dewfall Is there no one here, at all; In this ancient estate Do I sleep alone – A summer-bedded pink… |
Higo
Lingering Warblers (残鶯)
残りなく春の日かずは過ぎぬれどなほ鶯ぞたえずおとなふ
| nokorinaku haru no hikazu wa suginuredo nao uguisu zo taezu otonau | Not one remains Of the numbered days of spring; They are past, and yet Still the warbler Endlessly sings on. |
Higo
Pheasants (雉)
あふことのかたののきぎすつま恋にむべほろほろとたちゐ鳴くらん
| au koto no katano no kigisu tsumagoi ni mube horohoro to tachi’i nakuran | To meet at Katano, the pheasants, For mates a’yearning, Do, indeed, hoarsely Seem to cry, starting into flight. |
Higo
Azaleas (躑躅)
東路やつつじのをかをきてみればあかものすそに色ぞつたへる
| azumaji ya tsutsuji no oka o kitemireba akamo no suso ni iro zo tsutaeru | On Eastland paths Azalea covered hills Have I come to see, so of Scarlet-skirted slopes’ Hues will I tell. |
Higo
Falling Blossom (落花)
庭もせにちりしく花のしろければ雪ふるとしの心ちこそすれ
| niwamose ni chirishiku hana no shirokereba yuki furu toshi no kokochi koso sure | My narrow strip of ground, Spread with drifts of blossom Is so white, that This year snow has fallen Do I truly feel! |
Higo
Peach Blossom (桃花)
我がそのの桃のはつ花さきにけりみちよすぐべき春のしるしか
| wa ga sono no momo no hatsuhana sakinikeri michiyo sugubeki haru no shirushi ka | In my garden The first peach blossoms Have bloomed! Can three thousand generations have passed Afore this symbol of spring? |
Higo