Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/83

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Wabinureba Mi wo ukigusa no Ne wo taete Sasou mizu araba Inamu to zo omou.

So lonely am I My body is a floating weed Severed at the roots. Were there water to entice me, I would follow it, I think.

Ono no Komachi

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Yume ni da mo Miyu to wa mieji Asa na asa na Wa ga omokage ni Hazuru mi nareba

Not even in dreams Can I meet him any more— My glass each morning Reveals a face so wasted I turn away in shame.

Ise^[1]

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Fuyugare no Nobe to waga mi wo Omoiseba Moede mo haru wo Matashimono wo

If I consider My body like the fields Withered by winter, Can I hope, though I am burnt, That spring will come again?[2]

Ise

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Wa ga yado wa Michi mo naki made Arenikeri Tsurenaki hito wo Matsu to seshi ma ni

The weeds grow so thick You cannot even see the path That leads to my house: It happened while I waited For someone who would not come.

Sōjō Henjō (815–890)

1. Poetess and consort of the Emperor Uda.
2. The fields were burnt before the new crop was planted.