One Thousand Summers

Swift waters parted by the jagged rocks are joined at river’s end.

Since I could not hide my love, people would ask if I was pining for someone.

Impassionate gods have never seen crimson that lies in the Tatsuta River.

When winds send waves crashing against the rocks, I recall how my own efforts were in vain.

Note that though we may be apart, if I am to hear that you pine for me as the Inaba mountain pines, I shall return to you.

Like a boatsman adrift at the mouth of Yura, I do not know where this love will take me.

The sight of the lonely moon in the early morning reminds me of the lonely dawns after we parted. 

What matters is deciding in your heart to accept another person completely. When you do that, it is always the first time and the last.  ― Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman