Poems from the Japanese

The mists rise over
The still pools at Asuka
Memory does not
Pass away so easily

When I went out
In the Spring meadows
To gather violets
I enjoyed myself
So much that I stayed all night

Though the purity
Of the moonlight has silenced
Both nightingale and cricket
The cuckoo alone
Sings all the white night

I waited for my lover
Until I could hear
In the night the oars of the boat
Crossing the river of Heaven

In a gust of wind the white dew
On the autumn grass
Scatters like a broken necklace