to come but to this,
my wife and I trusted in life
as if it would last
a thousand years.
My wife departed from our home.
I could not hold her back
so I have hidden her
in the mountain,
and my heart has lost its bearing.
Though my mind knows
that life never comes
but to this,
how I cannot bear
these painful feelings!
Each time I see the mist
trailing on Saho Mountain,
I remember my wife —
there is no day
when I do not weep.
In the past
I glanced at it casually,
but now that I realize
my wife's grave is there,
how beloved is Saho Mountain.
_______________________
from The Ten Thousand Leaves
Poems from the Man'yoshu
translated by Ian Hideo Levy
NYRB, 2025
