On hearing the frogs .
我宿にあひ宿り宿りしてすむ蛙夜になればやものは悲しき
wa ga yado ni
aFiyadorisite
sumu kaFadu
yoru ni nareba ya
mono Fa kanasiki |
At my home
I lodge together with
The frogs dwelling there;
Is it that night has come
That make everything so sad? |
Anonymous
A poem from the Empress’ Poetry Competition in the Kanpyō period.
春たてど花もにほはぬ山里は物うかる音に鶯ぞなく
Faru tatedo
Fana mo niFoFanu
yamazato Fa
mono’ukaru ne ni
uguFisu zo naku |
Spring has come, yet
The blossoms do not shine
At my mountain home
How reluctantly
Does the warbler sing… |
Ariwara no Muneyana
在原棟梁
A poem to correct one whose feelings had gone astray.
ひさかたの天道は遠しなほなほに家に帰りて業を為まさに
pisakata no
amadi pa toposi
naponapo ni
ipe ni kaperite
nari o simasa ni
|
The eternal
Road to the heavens is long, indeed;
Meekly
Return home, and
Get to work! |
Yamanoue no Okura
山上憶良
When a woman who had long been in the same house left, on hearing that her parents in the province of Mino were unwell.
今はとて立帰ゆくふるさとの不破の関路に都忘るな
ima Fa tote
taikaFeriyuku
Furusato no
Fuwa no sekidi ni
miyako wasuruna |
“Now is the time,” you say
Getting up to leave for
Your home on
The roads past the barrier of Fuwa,
Don’t forget the capital! |
Fujiwara no Kiyotada (? – 958)
藤原清正
A woman who lived in a rather dilapidated place, when she was feeling alone, picked some violets from her garden and sent them to a man saying:
我が宿にすみれの花の多かれば来宿る人やあると待つかな
a ga yado ni
sumire no Fana no
oFokareba
kiyadoru Fito ya
aru to matu kana |
At my home
The violets bloom
In profusion, so
Wondering if you will come to stay
I am awaiting! |
Anonymous
'Simply moving and elegant'