Poem by Zen Master Ryokan

Another year lingers to an end;
Heaven sends a bitter frost.
Fallen leaves cover the mountains
And there are no travelers to cast shadows on the path.
Endless night: dried leaves burn slowly on the hearth.
Occasionally, the sound of freezing rain.
Dizzy, I try to recall the past –
Nothing here but dreams.

~ Ryokan

[From ‘One Robe, One Bowl’, translated by John Stevens.]
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One thought on “Poem by Zen Master Ryokan

  1. Hi William. I am sending you an enlarged front page of the author’s fair program . I was on first (alphabetical order). There were some problems with the mike but the reading went well. People liked them. I sold some for five dollars apiece and had requests to do illustrations for author’s books. That is an altogether different ball game. I  won awards years ago for my watercolors in juried shows and was the art editor of my college art and literary magazine but that was many years ago. Kristin

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