Classic Poem

Oftimes in far Korea didst thou hear
Of our Cipango as a goodly land;
And so, to parents and to brethren dear
Bidding adieu, thou sailed'st to the strand

Of these domains that own th' imperial pow'r,
Where glitt'ring palaces unnumber'd rise;
Yet such might please thee not, nor many a bow'r
Where village homesteads greet the pilgrim's eyes:

But in this spot, at Saoyama's base,
Some secret influence bade thee find thy rest,—
Bade seek us out with loving eagerness,
As seeks the weeping infant for the breast.

And here with aliens thou didst choose to dwell,
Year in, year out, in deepest sympathy;
And here thou builtest thee an holy cell;
And so the peaceful years went gliding by.

But ah! what living thing mote yet avoid
Death's dreary summons?—And thine hour did sound
When all the friends on whom thine heart relied
Slept on strange pillows on the mossy ground,

So, while the morn lit up Kasúga's crest,
O'er Saogawa's flood thy corse they bore,
To fill a tomb upon yon mountain's breast,
And dwell in darkness drear for evermore.

No words, alas! nor efforts can avail:
Nought can I do, poor solitary child!
Nought can I do but make my bitter wail,
And pace the room with cries and gestures wild,

Ceaselessly weeping, till my snowy sleeve
Is wet with tears. Who knows? Perchance again
Wafted they're borne upon the sighs I heave
On Arima's far distant heights to rain.