4382820A Hundred Verses from Old Japan — Poem 70William Ninnis PorterRyōzen

70


RIYŌ-ZEN HŌSHI

Sabishisa ni
Yado wo tachi-idete
Nagamureba
Izuko mo onaji
Aki no yūgure.


THE PRIEST RIYŌ-ZEN

The prospect from my cottage shows
No other hut in sight;
The solitude depresses me,
Like deepening twilight
On a chill autumn night.


Nothing is known of this author, but he appears to have lived during the eleventh century. The Priest appears in the illustration, looking out over the bare landscape, with his tiny hut in the background.