Anguished Mind - Shinkei

Anguished Mind
Poet: Shinkei 心敬 (1406-75),
Translation by Thomas W. Hare

To whom shall I speak
of my anguished mind?
The autumn sky.
The evening wind across the reeds,
the cry of geese behind the clouds.

I believe Shinkei's waka poem Anguished Mind is very powerful.

A man, clearly in distress, sitting cross-legged in a vast field asks a solitary question - a lament really. Then the autumn scene is simply and elegantly rendered.

Now the poem is over; thinking about what I have just read, I can no longer tell where it began and where it finished - the words seem inseperable and the image repeats itself as I step into his place.

To whom shall I speak
of my anguished mind?
The autumn sky.
The evening wind across the reeds,
the cry of geese behind the clouds.


Waga kokoro
Tare ni kataran
Aki no sora
Ogi ni yūkaze
Kumo ni karigane

Reference: Thesis: Linked Verse at Imashinmei Shrine, Anegakoji Imashinmei Hykuin, 1447.