Stressed, Unstressed: Classic Poems to Ease the Mind

As if it were mine,

Sleeping lazily

In this house of fresh air.

In the utter silence

Of a temple,

A cicada’s voice alone

Penetrates the rocks.

Cranes hop around

On the watery beach of Shiogoshi

Dabbling their long legs

In the cool tide of the sea.

I hope to have gathered

To repay your kindness

The willow leaves

Scattered in the garden.

As firmly cemented clam shells

Fall apart in autumn,

So I must take to the road again,

Farewell, my friends.

Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa

Tang Variations

1. Deer Enclosure

Empty mountain. Seeing nobody.

Only hearing the sound of voices.

Reflection: sunlight enters the deep forest

And shines again on green moss.

2. House in the Bamboo Grove

Sitting alone deep in a remote thicket

I pluck my lute and sing.

In this dark unknown forest

The bright moon shines on me.

3. Goodbye

We go to the mountain for our farewell

At sunset I close the door in the brushwood fence

Next year the spring grass will be green

And you, prince among friends, will return or not return.

4. One Heart

Red beans grow in the south country

In the warm weather there will be many branches

I want you to be here to pluck them with me

That is the thing I yearn for: it will cure my heart.

5. A Farewell

If you return to the mountains and the valleys

You must find beauty in the heights and the depths:

Don’t follow the example of the man

Who never travels beyond the peach garden where we play.

6. Snowy Peak

The north peak of Zhong Nan is beautiful

The snow piled up to the floating clouds

The sky is a blue clearing above the treetops