Japanese Plays and Playfellows — Chapter 5

"We've been together naow for forty year,And it don't seem a dy too much;There ain't a lydy livin' in the landAs I'd swop for my dear old Dutch,"

"J' termine ma lettre en t'embrassant,Adieu, mon homme,Quoique tu ne soy pas caressantJ' t'adore commeJ'adorais l' Bon Dieu comm' Papa,Quand j'étais p'tite,Et que j'allais communier àSte. Marguerite,"

"Oh, Flo! What a change, you know!When she left the village she was shy;But alas! and alack! She's come backWith a naughty little twinkle in her eye."

"Andon kakitateNegao mozokiYoso no onna noHoreru-hazu,"

I, with trimmed lantern,Scan thy face, sleeping:By a strange womanThou art beloved.

"Shikishima noYamato-gokoro woHito towaba,Asahi ni niouYama zakura bana."

Heart of our Island,Heart of Yamato,If one should ask youWhat it may be;Fragrance is waftedThrough morning sunlightOver the mountain,Cherry-trees bloom.

"Asagao niTsurube torarete,Morai mizu."

By convolvulusWell bucket taken:Gift-water.

"Such a starved bank of mossTill, that May-morn,

Blue ran the flash across:Violets were born!

"World how it walled aboutLife with disgraceTill God's own smile came out:That was thy face!"

"Nushi to neru tokiMakura ga iranuTagaï-chigaï noO te makura."

Pillow Song.

Sleeping beside thee,No need of pillow;Thine arm and mine arm,Pillows are they.

Lord-and-master (or Thee)-with-sleep-when,Pillow-indeed-no-go-;Mutual-different-ofHonourable-Arm-Pillow.

Snow Song.

Careless of snow-drifts,Nightly I seek thee;Deeper the love lies,Heaped in my heart.

Lovers Meeting.

So much to talk of!Yet for joy weeping,Words, when we meet, fallHead over heels.

Stylish appearanceDoes not bewitch me;Fruits pass, and flowers:I love the tree.

In mine ears lingerWords said at parting;Sleeping alone, II Hope for a dream.

Thou, cold as water,I, hot as fire ;Till we to earth turn,Trouble is mine.

Longing to meet thee,Longing to see thee,Six and four inches,Passion's a-foot !

Longing to meet, six inches,Longing to see, four inches,These, indeed, being added together,Make a shaku.

Would that my heart wereCut out and shown thee!Quarrelling leaves meDeeper in love.

If, from thee sundered,I roam the pine-wood,Can it be dew falls?Can it be tears?

Far from each other,Yearning for union;Good, were our facesGlassed in the moon!

Dearer than kindnessOf those I love notIs thine unkindness,Loved one, to me.

Gladly on love's roadPulling the rickshaw,Undrawn, I draw itOn to the end.

Thou art as yonderDelicate hill-pine,Through years a thousandEver the same.

I am my master'sSingle-flowered cherry;Folk seeking blossomBend no boughs here.

All night I waited,Yet my lord came not;None but the moon cameUnder my net.

Steered with deft rudder,Fooled with soft speeches,To my verandahI hale her up.

"Shita go kaji toruAno kuchigurumaNoshite nikaiHiki-ageru."

Full of set flowers,Full is my chamber;Thou art most stately,White peony.

Ah! how my petalsFloat in the flower-vase;Helpless and rootless;Sad is my lot.

Peonies, roses,Faded, are equal;Only while life bloomsDiffer the flowers.

"There has fallen a splendid tearFrom the passion-flower at the gate;The larkspur listens 'I hear,' 'I hear';And the lily whispers, 'I wait.'"

Joy drew the rickshaw,Heaven takes vengeance,Empty the larder,Rickshaw of fire.

For the moon, cloud-wrack;For the flower, tempest;For the truth, this world;Wanting the hour.

My heart to bodyFuel to engine;Thy heart an air-shipLoose in the sky.

Borne in no road-car,Endless the railway,How shall poor I reachStation at last?

Only your likeness!Faithful? I know not.Could I but take one,Too, of your heart!

White snow of FujiLoosened at sunrise;Maiden's shimadaLoosened for sleep.

Mock not the puckeredBloom of a dried plum;Once on its fresh sprayNightingales wept.

As vine weds ivy,So would I clasp him;If the man will not,What can be done?

"Mukōjima,Cherry-blossom,Sliced dumpling,Boiled eggs,Girl, come here!Drinking, sleeping,Heigh-ho! Tra-la-la!"

"Ho! now is the time;Ho! now is the time;Ha! Ha! Psha!Even nowMy boys!Even nowMy boys!"