Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/167

Rh Hills beneath heaven; On the broad earth, trees— These things that the small man spurns The wise shall nourish. Though I want in the straits of distress, How should I decline the defenses of virtue? At my case I draw off the lakes of the west; My gaze governs the northern waters. And these ragged hills That shut not out the coursing sun; This clear bright pond, Ruffled in the wind; Pines that nod from their crags in greeting; Rocks shining from the river bottom beneath drifting watery mirrors; Scattered clouds that cloak the summits in shadows; The half-risen moon which lights the vales, When from tree to tree dart crying birds: To these will I abandon, will I entrust my life. The Great Creator, in the variety of his works, Blesses as well the lowly and small. When all philosophy I resolve in this one act, I may stride the leviathan seas and they will not hold me! Into the dark heart of all being I shall ride And dwell in the spacious halls of the ant. Truly need one seek not beyond his door for wisdom; Must a man see all mountains and seas to love them? In these lines have I entrusted The writing of what my heart has learned. Isonokami no Yakatsugu (729-781)

The banished official

Wine and feasts I followed with the host of officials; Unworthy, yet I stood in the Court of the Emperor. With reverence I received the rites of investiture—