Then with his pretty prattle in mine ears, I'd lie awake and scan The good and evil of the coming years, And see the child a man. And, as the seaman trusts his bark, I'd trust That nought could harm the boy:-- Alas! I wist not that the whirling gust Would shipwreck all my joy! Then with despairing, helpless hands I grasp'd The sacred mirror's[147] sphere; And round my shoulder I my garments clasp'd, And prayed with many a tear:-- "'Tis yours, great gods, that dwell in heav'n on high, Great gods of earth! 'tis yours To heed, or heed not, a poor father's cry, Who worships and implores!" Alas! vain pray'rs, that more no more avail! He languished day by day, Till e'en his infant speech began to fail, And life soon ebbed away. Stagg'ring with grief I strike my sobbing breast, And wildly dance and groan:-- Ah! such is life! the child that I caress'd Far from mine arms hath flown. SHORT STANZA ON THE SAME OCCASION So young, so young! he cannot know the way:-- On Hades' porter I'll a bribe bestow, That on his shoulders the dear infant may Be safely carried to the realms below. _Attributed to Okura._ FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 144: Died A.D. 671.] [Footnote 145: Viz., with the departed and deified Mikado.] [Footnote 146: The Milky Way.] [Footnote 147: The part played by the mirror in the devotions of the Japanese is carried back by them to a tale in their mythology which relates the disappearance into a cavern of the Sun-goddess Amaterasu, and the manner in which she was enticed forth by being led to believe that her reflection in a mirror that was shown to her was another deity more lovely than herself.] MISCELLANEOUS POEMS VIEW FROM MOUNT KAGO _Composed by the Mikado Zhiyomei_ Countless are the mountain-chains Tow'ring o'er Cipango's plains; But fairest is Mount Kago's peak, Whose heav'nward soaring heights I seek, And gaze on all my realms beneath-- Gaze on the land where vapors wreath O'er many a cot; gaze on the sea, Where cry the sea-gulls merrily. Yes! 'tis a very pleasant land, Fill'd with joys on either hand, Sweeter than aught beneath the sky, Dear islands of the dragon-fly![148] THE MIKADO'S BOW[149] When the dawn is shining, He takes it up and fondles it with pride; When the day's declining, He lays it by his pillow's side. Hark to the twanging of the string! This is the Bow of our great Lord and King! Now to the morning chase they ride, Now to the chase again at eventide: Hark to the twanging of the string! This is the Bow of our great Lord and King! _Hashibito_. SPRING AND AUTUMN