病院に多々桜君を見舞ふVisiting my friend Tatara in the hospital.
投げしは白桃の蕾とくとくひらけthe white peach buds i tossed in — open, open, quickly now
なげしは はくとうの つぼみ とくとく ひらけnageshi wa hakutō no tsubomi tokutoku hirake
昭和14年(1939) さいごの長旅1939 · Last long journey
『草木塔』旅心Sōmokutō · Heart for the Road (Tabigokoro)
病院に句友の多々桜を見舞ったときの句。投げ入れた白桃の枝の蕾に、とくとく――早く早く――ひらけと呼びかける。蕾のひらく力に、病む友の快方への願いが重ねられている。Written when Santōka visited his fellow poet Tatara at the hospital. He calls out to the buds on the white-peach branch he has set in the vase — quickly, quickly, open. The force of the opening bud carries his wish for his sick friend's recovery.