Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79. | | | | Japan: Yoshino, the River | | Yoshino | | From the Japanese |
| | Anonymous translation
LOFTY Ashibiki Hill, | |
| Limpid waters leap adown thee, | |
| Streamy falls of Yoshino. | |
| Pensive by the river standing, | |
| Search I long the clear depths, | 5 |
| Listening to the shrilly cries, | |
| Echoing through the streamy land | |
| Of the snipelets up the river, | |
| Calling down the river sharply | |
| Calling on their absent mates: | 10 |
| Yet of yonder busy flock | |
| Each must perish in his turn, | |
| Lying dead upon the ground. | |
| As the joyous scene I view, | |
| Ah, what sadness fills my soul, | 15 |
| Endless as the wild vine’s creeper,— | |
| Generations thousands ten | |
| Pass away like morning rime. | |
| Let us pray to gods of earth, | |
| Let us pray to gods of heaven! | 20 |
Ever dreaded be the gods!
THE END. | | | | |
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