Sayonara
By the well's green water
Under the willow shade tree
Leaves of light fall golden
Golden fall and lightly.Autumn sun ripens golden,
Fruit of heaven's windfall;
Leaves lie on the water;
Pale moon lights her candle.Fire-bright fox eyes burn through the night;
Badgers limned in lantern light;
Stars on the wing are geese in flight.Bronze fish hang in jade pools
Mirroring rose-tipped mountains;
Emperors and ladies
Wander among sweet fountains.Porcelain-blue and silver
The brimming lake by moonlight;
Noon-kiln cools through evening;
Figurines glazed in starlightShamisen songs
On the mountain linger, mingling
Where in palace gardens maidens
Courtly melodies are fingeringQuills in the ink-well twilight,
Willow fronds sketch Ming shadows,
Indigo and violet,
Veining the mists and white snows.Steel katanas star-black
And ivory netsukes graven,
Samurai sleep dragon-scaled
Under the vault of heaven.Fire-bright fox eyes burn through the night;
Badgers limned in lantern light;
Stars on the wing are geese in flight.By the well's green water
Under the willow shade tree
Leaves of light fall golden
Golden fall and lightly.