Left
おもひにはみをもかへつるなつむしのきえてもあふとたれかいひけむ
| omoi ni wa mi o mo kaetsuru natsumushi no kiete mo au to tare ka iikemu | Passion’s flame Has changed the flesh of The fireflies Even fading will we meet— Who is it might say that? |
17
Right
あひもみぬこひによりつつなつむしのもえこがるれどかひなかりけり
| ai mo minu koi ni yoritsutsu natsumushi no moekogaruredo kai nakarikeri | Meeting but not seeing: Ever trusting in such a love The fireflies Burn themselves to char, yet ‘Tis pointless, indeed. |
18
Left
かぎりなきおもひのほかになつむしのまどふをひとのうへとこそ見れ
| kagiri naki omoi no hoka ni natsumushi no madou o hito no ue to koso mire | Endlessly In sudden flames of passion are Fireflies Lost—upon Her do I see them! |
15
Right
ただひとつおもひをだにもなつむしのいのちをすててたのむなるかな
| tada hitotsu omoi o dani mo natsumushi no inochi o sutete tanomu naru kana | With but a single Passion’s flame, even A firefly Abandon’s his life— On that you can rely! |
16
Left
あひみたることもなくてはなつむしのいかでかおもひみにははなれむ
| aimitaru koto mo nakute wa natsumushi no ikade ka omoi mi ni wa hanaremu | Meeting together— That we have never done, so As a firefly Why is it that passion’s flames Should drive me from myself? |
13
Right
みのならむことをばしらでなつむしのいかなるこひにおもひいるらむ
| mi no naramu koto oba shirade natsumushi no ikanaru koi ni omoi’iruramu | What is to become of me I know not— As a firefly What sort of love is it that I should seem to brood so? |
14
Left
あふことをいつともしらぬなつむしのおもひはかぎりなくやあるらん
| au koto o itsu tomo shiranu natsumushi no omoi wa kagiri naku ya aruran | We will meet I know not when, so As a firefly, Bounded by burning passion Should weep away? |
11
Right
またまたもみをぞすてつるなつむしのなほあきたらぬこひをたのみて
| mata mata mo mi o zo sutetsuru natsumushi no nao akitaranu koi o tanomite | Time and time again Having abandoned all restraint, A firefly Never sated By love’s flames—that’s what I long for! |
12
Left
みをすてておもひにいれるなつむしのいまいくばくもあらじとぞおもふ
| mi o sutete omoi ni ireru natsumushi no ima ikubaku mo araji to zo omou | Abandoning all restraint I plunge into burning passion— Fireflies Now numberless As my thoughts. |
9
Right
としをへてこひにみなぐるなつむしのあふにはかへていかがなりにし
| toshi o hete koi ni minaguru natsumushi no au ni wa kaete ikaga narinishi | As the years go by, I am laid out by love— A firefly On meeting changes and What has it become? |
10
Left
こひこひてただにややまむなつむしのおもひのほかにみをやすててむ
| koikoite tada ni ya yamamu natsumushi no omoi no hoka ni mi o ya sutetemu | So much in love— Will it ever all be over? As a firefly In sudden fires of passion Should I abandon all restraint? |
7
Right
たれによりひとつおもひにみをすててことしもなつのむしとなりしぞ
| tare ni yori hitotsu omoi ni mi o sutete kotoshi mo natsu no mushi to narishi zo | For whose sake is it I burn with singular passion? Abandoning all restraint This year, too, a fire Fly have I become! |
8
As a poem on willows.
青柳のいともてぬける白露の玉こきちらす春の山かぜ
| aoyagi no ito mo tenukeru shiratsuyu no tama kokichirasu haru no yamakaze | Pale green willow Threads are strung With silver dewdrops— Gems scattered by The breeze from off the mountains in springtime. |
As a poem on willows.
春くれば猶色まさる山しろのときはの杜の青柳のいと
| haru kureba nao iro masaru yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no aoyagi no ito | Spring has come, and Still their hues are beyond fine: In Yamashiro’s Evergreen forests— Pale green threads of willow. |
On a place where plum blossom blooms.
わがやどの梅のはつはなさきにけりまつうぐひすはなどかきなかぬ
| wa ga yado no ume no hatsuhana sakinikeri matsu uguisu wa nado ka kinakanu | My dwelling’s First plum blossom Has bloomed, so Why has the long awaited warbler Not come to sing? |
For a folding screen showing snow falling and clinging to a plum tree.
梅のはな色はそれともわかぬまで風にみだれて雪はふりつつ
| ume no hana iro wa sore tomo wakanu made kaze ni midarete yuki wa furitsutsu | The plum blossoms’ Hue is such that I cannot tell them apart— The wind creates confusion as The snow falls on and on… |
