A Song Where I Belong

Inspired by Maxfield Parish’s “The Dinky Bird”  On the clouds   Of fruit-filled dreams I dream   Of castles      And fairy tales  One ladder   Each step—      A movement in time  Falling along a road   Looking at the skyEach kiss a melody—   The words, a broken cord  Time protected   In knotsAnd fortress walls   …

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Drops from Keido Fukushima’s “Leaves”

wind and sea—the leaves we leavefor other generations little by little—the leaves line upto be lifted by the wind pure sky—awakened to soundof single leaf trees and skies—the generations growfrom leaf to leaf running in the wind—searching for “self”in the veins of time water and life—a drop in the moon’smidnight …

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Nakatsu Sumera Mikoto’s “Beneath the Young Pine”

My dear, This grass Will not do— Let us sleep beneath The young pine Original Text Modern Text Pronunciation 中皇命 中皇命 Nakatsu Sumera Mikoto 吾勢子波 我が背子は Waga Seko ha 借廬作良須 仮廬作らす Kariho tsukurasu 草無者 草なくは Kaya naku ha 小松下乃 小松が下の Komatsu ga shita no 草乎苅核 …

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Nakatsu Sumera Mikoto’s “Tying the Roots”

Let’s tie the roots Together At Iwashiro Hill— Your life And my life too Original Text Modern Text Pronunciation 中皇命 中皇命 Nakatsu Sumera Mikoto 君之齒母 君が代も Kimi ga yo mo 吾代毛所知哉 我が代も知るや Waga yo mo shiru-ya 磐代乃 岩代の Iwashiro no 岡之草根乎 岡の草根を Oka no kusane …

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Author unknown, “How deep was the dye of my longing” (Kokinshu #7)

Translation How deep was the dye Of my longing: A flower appeared, I went to pluck, And found just lingering snow. Commentary There was a note that said the former Chancellor, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, may have written the poem. The poem describes the narrator having …

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