The Kokinshu: Weekly Reading
It seems my love wants me to die of this longing-
all the jet black night he comes to me in dreams;
to keep hopeless passion burning.
The Kokinshu is a compilation of well over a thousand short poems composed by Japanese poets in the Heian period (as ordered by Emperer Uda). It dates all the way back roughly to the year 905. I have fallen in love with these poems!
The book I'm pulling these poems from deserve the following credits:
John Timothy Wixted (Author), Leonard Grzanka (Author), Laurel Rasplica Rodd (Translator), Mary Catherine Henkenius (Translator)
The book itself can be purchased on Amazon if you follow this link.
Please keep in mind that The Kokinshu has been published by many different publishers and translated by many different people over time. I'm simply sharing with you the translations from one book.