168 HEIAN PERIOD
“That from toe to tip I might be twined about her.”
Then though they should cut, though they should carve—
Inseparable our lots!
· ·
Things that bend in the wind—
The tall branches of pine-tree tops,
Or the little twigs of bamboos,
Boats that run with spread sails on the sea,
Floating clouds in the sky,
And in the fields the flowering susuki.
· ·
For sport and play
I think that we are born.
For when I hear
The voice of children at their play,
My limbs, even my
Stiff limbs, are stirred.
· ·
Dance, dance, Mr. Snail!
If you won’t I shall leave you
For the little horse,
For the little ox
To tread under his hoof,
To trample to bits.
But if quite prettily
You dance your dance,
To a garden of flowers
I will carry you to play.
