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Sugi takashi
Saredomo semi no
Amaru koe!
High though the cedar be, the voice of the semi is incomparably higher!
Koe nagaki
Semi wa mijikaki
Inochi kana!
How long, alas! the voice and how short the life of the semi!
Some poets celebrate the negative form of plea sure following upon the cessation of the sound:—
Semi ni dete,
Hotaru ni modoru,—
Suzumi kana!—Yayū.
When the semi cease their noise, and the fireflies come out—oh! how refreshing the hour!
Semi no tatsu,
Ato suzushisa yo!
Matsu no koe.—Baijaku.
When the semi cease their storm, oh, how refreshing the stillness!
Gratefully then resounds the musical speech of the pines.
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