CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Photo by S. Auberle

Were these poems written by me in the year 2009?
Or by Izumi Shikibu in the year 1050 in Japan?
Who can tell?
Across time and space we are one...

Come quickly

as soon as these blossoms open

they fall.

This world exists

as a sheen of dew on flowers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

However wildly

this year's cherry blossoms bloom,

I'll see them

with the plum's scent

filling my heart.

~ Izumi Shikibu

The Ink Dark Moon

Translated by

Jane Hirschfield with Mariko Aratani