A night rain whispers outside the window.
The floor of my room in a foreign land
is covered with six tatami mats.
To be a divinely destined poet is a solemn duty.
Let me try to jot down a poetical line.
The smell of my parents' sweat and affection
fills the envelope containing my tuition.
With a notebook under my arm
I head for an old professor's lecture.
I come to think of my childhood friends.
First one, then another, they're all gone.
What do I hope for as I sink alone?
Life is so hard,
and yet I've all too easily written a poem.
I feel so ashamed.
The floor of my room in a foreign land
is covered with six tatami mats.
A night rain whispers outside the window.
Turning the lamp on,
the darkness goes away.
I, as if a man on the last day,
await the morning
to break forth like a new age.
Offering myself my small hand,
I propose the first handshake¦¡
in tears and comfort.
The floor of my room in a foreign land
is covered with six tatami mats.
To be a divinely destined poet is a solemn duty.
Let me try to jot down a poetical line.
The smell of my parents' sweat and affection
fills the envelope containing my tuition.
With a notebook under my arm
I head for an old professor's lecture.
I come to think of my childhood friends.
First one, then another, they're all gone.
What do I hope for as I sink alone?
Life is so hard,
and yet I've all too easily written a poem.
I feel so ashamed.
The floor of my room in a foreign land
is covered with six tatami mats.
A night rain whispers outside the window.
Turning the lamp on,
the darkness goes away.
I, as if a man on the last day,
await the morning
to break forth like a new age.
Offering myself my small hand,
I propose the first handshake¦¡
in tears and comfort.
