Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/169

Rh Do not tell me that my hair gets thinner by the day— See, instead, how the beards of my grandsons grow out! Shimada no Tadaomi (828-891)

To comfort my little son and daughter

''Michizane, a high official, was forced into exile. All of his twenty-three children were detained or sent to different places except the two youngest, who were allowed to accompany their father to Kyushu.''

The spider

There is craft in this smallest insect, With strands of web spinning out his thoughts; In his tiny body finding rest,