Izumi Shikibu Quotes

Even if I now saw you only once, I would long for you through worlds, worlds, worlds. — Izumi Shikibu

The one close to me now; even my own body
these too will soon become clouds, floating in different directions. — Izumi Shikibu

Watching the moon at midnight, solitary, mid-sky, I knew myself completely, no part left out. — Izumi Shikibu

In this world
love has no color
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours. — Izumi Shikibu

In love longing I listen to the monk's bell. I will never forget you even for an interval short as those between the bell notes. — Izumi Shikibu

Come quickly
as soon as these blossoms open, they fall. This world exists as a sheen of dew on flowers. — Izumi Shikibu

If the one I waited for came now,
What should I do?
This morning's garden filled with snow
Is far too lovely
For footsteps to mar. — Izumi Shikibu

Perhaps, if I make a friend
of the mountain cuckoo
in this world,
he will talk to me
when we cross the mountain of death — Izumi Shikibu

Although I try / to hold the single thought / of Buddha's teaching in my heart, / I cannot help but hear / the many crickets' voices calling as well. — Izumi Shikibu

Even when a river of tears courses through this body, the flame of love cannot be quenched. — Izumi Shikibu

For a moment
he became smoke.
How intimate,
now,
the cloudy sky. — Izumi Shikibu