Taigu Ryokan Poems

at dusk
i often climb
to the peak of kugami.
deer bellow,
...

Midsummer --
I walk about with my staff.
Old farmers spot me
And call me over for a drink.
...

“When, when?” I sighed.
The one I longed for
Has finally come;
With her now,
...

With no mind, flowers lure the
butterfly;
With no mind, the butterfly visits
the blossoms.
...

This treasure was discovered in a bamboo thicket --
I washed the bowl in a spring and then mended it.
...

Like the little stream
Making its way
Through the mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
...

Slopes
of Mount Kugami—
in the mountain's shade
a hut beneath the trees
...

You stop to point at the moon in the sky,
but the finger's blind unless the moon is shining.
...

Yes, I’m truly a dunce
Living among trees and plants.
Please don’t question me about illusion and enlightenment --
...

When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather
...