Its house abandoned,
the garden has become home
to butterflies. /Sogi *
A tin truck is left, unseen
under a sagging arbor.
Rotted firewood—
a rhinoceros beetle crawls
out of the ground.
Peeling, sun-faded,
the porch eaves are crowded
with barn swallow nests.
No water in the stone fountain...
a few tarnished pennies... **
Tattered curtains wave
through a broken window—
the scent of lilacs.
* Translation of
Steven D. Carter
Sogi: 1421 - 1502
** It is customary in
Russia, to throw a coin (with the right hand over the left
shoulder) into a fountain at some beautiful place that you
visit. The coins are left as an assurance that one day you will
return to that place. This custom may have come to Russia from
Rome, Italy, which was said to have started in the 18th century.
