SANTŌKA: THREE POEMS

sakura sakura saku sakura chiru sakura

cherry tree

cherry blossoms

cherry blossoms scatter

cherry tree

⟡

narande takenoko take ni naritsutsu

side by side the bamboo shoots becoming bamboo

⟡

mata miru koto mo nai yama ga tōzakaru

the mountain I'll never see again
recedes

⟡

From Santōka: A translation with photographic images (PIE Books, 2006). Translated from the Japanese by Emiko Miyashita and Paul Watsky. Reproduced by kind permission.