broken

In my loneliness

I break and burn

twigs for the snapping fire -

hoping the smoke at least won't leave.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

translation by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani

between the roof planks

It is true,

the wind blows terribly here -

but moonlight

also leaks between the roof planks

of this ruined house.

~ Izumi Shikibu, (974-1034)

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

if only

Last year's

fragile, vanished snow

is falling now again -

if only seeing you

could be like this.

~ Izumi Shikibu

now?

If the one I've waited for

came now, what should I do?

This morning's garden filled with snow

is far too lovely

for footsteps to mar.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

which

Which shouldn’t exist

in this world,

the one who forgets

or the one

who is forgotten?

Which is better,

to love

one who has died

or not to see

each other when you are alive?

Which is better,

the distant lover

you long for

or the one you see daily

without desire?

Which is the least unreliable

among fickle things—

the swift rapids,

a flowing river,

or this human world?

~ Izumi Shikibu

 translation by Jane Hirshfield

from  The Ink Dark Moon

the one close to me now

The one close to me now,

even my own body -

these too

will soon become clouds,

floating in different directions.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

translation by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani

Onono Komachi and Izumi Shikibu were both Japanese poets of the Heian Period. 

 The arts of the Heian Period are marked with a definite feminine sensibility. 

Because the Chinese characters (which were used in writing Japanese) 

were seen as inappropriate to women, 

they developed a simplified and elegant style of writing/calligraphy 

that became known as Hiragana or "onna de"... "feminine hand". 

~ comments from the literature network

floating

The one close to me now,

even my own body -

these too

will soon become clouds,

floating in different directions.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

translations by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani

scattering

A string of jewels

from a broken necklace,

scattering -

more difficult to keep hold of

even than these in one's life.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

should I

Should I leave this burning house

of ceaseless thought

and taste the pure rain's

single truth

falling upon my skin?

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

translations by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani

art by kristine wyler

not the flower

As I dig for wild orchids

in the autumn fields,

it is the deeply-bedded root

that I desire,

not the flower.

~ Izumi Shikibu

from The Ink Dark Moon

Izumi Shikibu

.

.

Watching the moon 

at midnight,

solitary, mid-sky,

I knew myself completely,

no part left out.

.

.

.

I cannot say 

which is which:

the glowing 

plum blossom is

the spring night’s moon.

.

.

.

.

It is true,

the wind blows terribly here -

but moonlight

also leaks between the roof planks

of this ruined house.

.

~ Izumi Shikibu, (974-1034)

.

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

.