◎A Bead of Dew by Jade Mists tr. Lush Greenness
Except for the fragrance of a cherry tree and
The murmurs from a few moving worms in the growth of grass,
All creatures on earth are lying motionless in their dreams.
On the lips of a yellowish wild flower stays
A wonderful dewdrop,
Plump and translucent, with a bit of coolness.
What perilous beauteousness!
I gaze fixedly at it until it is blown off by a breeze
And loses itself into the air.
It dies so noiselessly that I have no time for a gasp.
Too late to give a cry, too late to act as the dew in the breeze
Shivering lightly for an instant.