春風の
花を散らすと
見る夢は
さめても胸の
騒ぐなりけり
-- 西行
the Spring wind
scattering blossoms
I saw it in a dream
but when I awoke the sound
was still rustling in my breast
-- Saigyō, translator unknown
ねがはくは
花の下にて
春死なむ
そのきさらぎの
もち月のころ
-- 西行
Let me die in spring
under the blossoming trees,
let it be around
that full moon
of Kisaragi month
-- Saigyō, translator Burton Watson
Welcome to my salon pour une. Enjoy the cherry blossoms.
Now that I’m back all I can think about is how to leave again.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
— John Masefeld, “Sea Fever”