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