ほととぎすあすはあの山こえて行かうcuckoo — tomorrow i'll cross that mountain over there

ほととぎすの声を聞きながら、あすはあの山を越えて行こうと思う。行き先を決めるのは地図ではなく、山の姿と鳥の声。それでじゅうぶんだった。旅の句のなかでもひときわ前を向いていて、朝に口ずさむと、足が少し軽くなるような一句。Listening to the cuckoo's call, he decides that tomorrow he will cross that mountain. His route is set not by a map but by the shape of the hills and the voice of a bird — and that was enough. Among the traveling poems this one faces forward with special brightness; murmured at dawn, it seems to lighten the step.