|
jewel-like for kelp
Sanuki the precious place
its preciousness why
I tire not of seeing it
its priestliness why
the most blesséd of all views
with heaven and earth
with the light of sun and moon
it will long endure
a god lent to it his face
as his legacy
Naka port weighing anchor
boat in the breakers
rowing on until the wind
rising with the tide
stormed down on us from the clouds
I beheld aftward
high waves gathering erect
I beheld forward
white waves crashing on the surf
awful the ocean
where they go hunting for whales
we held the tiller
forcing the ship on its course
hither and thither
we saw the coasts of islands
to land on safely
Samine Island we chose
whose name is so fair
shelter found we looked about
and we beheld you
bedded down upon the beach
amid rugged rocks
pillowing you all the coast
in so rude a place
you have lain you down to rest
your home I know not
or I should tell them of this
your wife I know not
or she would come here searching
straight as a bright spear
the way she knows nothing of
how she must await
pining anxiously for you
she you loved who was your wife
envoys
if your wife were here
she would be culling you food
from Samine hills
picking greens this this and this
they are out of season now
the wind-driven surf
pummels all this rugged shore
where your bed you make
pillowing amid the rocks
you lay your head down to rest
|