Izumi Shikibu

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Watching the moon 

at midnight,

solitary, mid-sky,

I knew myself completely,

no part left out.

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I cannot say 

which is which:

the glowing 

plum blossom is

the spring night’s moon.

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It is true,

the wind blows terribly here -

but moonlight

also leaks between the roof planks

of this ruined house.

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~ Izumi Shikibu, (974-1034)

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She is considered by some to be the greatest woman poet of Japanese literature.

from:  Women in Praise of the Sacred, edited by Jane Hirshfield

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