Poem: Although the wind by Izumi Shikibu

[dragonyphoenix]

Although the wind By Izumi Shikibu
English version by Jane Hirshfield

Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.


Izumi Shikibu is one of the towering figures of Japanese literature. She lived in Kyoto and was an official companion to the empress. She married young, but scandalized the court by abandoning her husband to become the lover of one of the empress's sons. When the prince died a few years later, she took a series of other lovers before eventually marrying for a second time.

She was a social rebel, but willing to be fully engaged in her life. And, like her personal life, Shikibu's poetry mixes elements of eros with the deep awareness that comes from Buddhist meditative practice.

Comments

[lemorttoussaint.livejournal.com]

One of the biggest barriers for me reading non-English language poetry is translations. This is a really good translation of a beautiful poem, so thanks for posting this.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about translations. My local library carries a book of poetry by Nelly Sachs, translated from the German, and I'm sure it's significantly better in the original!

I get poems e-mailed to me from Poetry Chaikhana (http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/) which is where this one came from. I couldn't resist posting it, as much for the beautiful poem as for it's being written by a woman, especially one who had such an interesting life.