12/13/08

葉隠聞書

葉隠聞書
The Warrior



He stands, and lets all those who watch
From the comfort of their campfire,
Know not what he will tolerate,
As much as what he will not tolerate:
Sinfulness, soullessness;
Thievery.

Hagakure, waiting for the demons
Who would rob the widows and the orphans;
He passes no judgment,
Since that has already been rendered;
He guards no passages,
As they have already been closed;
He stands, as a retainer,
As one who knows.

Lord Naoshige said:
"Matters of great concern
Should be treated lightly."
And Master Ittei commented:
"Matters of small concern
Should be treated seriously."

Knowledge of wrongdoing clear,
He makes his way forward,
Holding close all that is dear:
The rights of those who have fallen,
Be they far or near.

By the time the final blow has been struck,
The vanquished already knew
They had lost all of their luck,
And they now are part of a strange brew:
It is discarded, and they are regarded,
As those that we wished we never knew.



December 13, 2008.

Copyright 2008, Ricky A. Pursley. All rights reserved. Especially those that formerly flowed to the thieves, bill and elle dee.

4 comments:

  1. 葉隠入門, 平岡 公威, 三島 由紀夫.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Larry, your facility with Japanese far exceeds mine. Translation, please!

    ReplyDelete
  3. "葉隠入門, 平岡 公威, 三島 由紀夫."
    Not sure what it means, exactly.
    My best guess is:
    "Round-eye, cut and paste, Mr. Miyagi."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Okay, that works well enough for me.

    ReplyDelete