Eihei Dogen Kigen translations by Michael R Burch

This world? Moonlit dew flicked from a crane’s bill. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Seventy-one? How long can a dewdrop last? —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation of his jisei (death poem) by Michael R. Burch Dewdrops beading grass-blades die before dawn; may an untimely wind not hasten their departure! —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Outside my window the plums, blossoming, within their curled buds, contain the spring; the moon is reflected in the cup-like whorls of the lovely flowers I gather and twirl. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Unaware it protects the hilltop paddies, the scarecrow seems useless to itself. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch The cluttered bucket's bottom broke; now neither water nor the moon remains. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch I won't stop at the valley brook for fear my shadow may be swept into the world. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Although I may see it again someday, how can I sleep with the autumn moon intruding? —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Like a frail blade of grass, I pass over Mt. Kinobe, my feelings drifting with the clouds. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch How meaningless birth-death with its ceaseless ebbing and rising! I struggle to find my path as if walking in a dream. And yet there are things I cannot forget: the lush grass of Fukakusa shimmers after an evening rain. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Living so long without attachments, having given up paper and pen, I see flowers and hear birds while feeling very little; dwelling on this mountain, I’m embarrassed by my meager response. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Peach blossoms begin to fall apart in a spring wind: doubts do not grow branches, leaves and flowers. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Ebb tide. Not even the wind claims an abandoned boat. The moon is a bright herald of midnight. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Dewdrops beading blades of grass have so little time to shine before dawn; let the autumn wind not rush too quickly through the field! —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch To what shall we compare this world? To moonlit dew flicked from a crane’s bill. —Eihei Dogen Kigen translation by Michael R. Burch Keywords/Tags: Eihei Dogen Kigen, waka, tanka, haiku, translation, dew, crane, bill