Akiko Yosano Poems

Left on the beach
Full of water
A worn out boat
Reflects the white sky --
...

I am sick today,
sick in my body,
eyes wide open, silent,
...

Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
...

O my young brother, I cry for you
Don't you understand you must not die!
You who were born the last of all
Command a special store of parents' love
...

This autumn will end.
Nothing can last forever.
Fate controls our lives.
Fondle my breasts
...

I can give myself to her
In her dreams
Whispering her own poems
...

Press my breasts,
Part the veil of mystery,
A flower blooms there,
Crimson and fragrant.
...

My lovely two-year-old Auguste,
I write this down for you:
Today, for the first time,
you struck your mother on the cheek.
...

Blach hair
Tangled in a thousand strands.
Tangled my hair and
Tangled my tangled memories
...

May is a fancy month, a flower month,
The month of buds, the month of scents, the month of colors,
The month of poplars, marrons, plantanes,
Azaleas, tree peonies, wisteria, redbud,
...