Japanese Tanka Poetry
Poem 1 I’ve gone to him by dream paths, my feet never resting- but it can never match one glimpse of him in real life -Ono Komachi
Poem 2 Spring rains weaving eccentric brocades across the face of the water- will they dye all the hills green? -Lady Ise
Poem 3 In this world there are many kinds of longing, but no longing to match the longing for one’s child -Ki Tsurayuki
Poem 4 As I look at the moon my mind goes roaming, till I live again the autumns that I knew long ago. -Saigyo