You can tell
from the outline of the hills,
the way it’s hazed over—
from this morning on
we’ll have springtime dawns
– Saigyō, from Poems of a Mountain Home (trans. Burton Watson)
Yama no ha no kasumu keshiki ni shiruki kana
kesa yori ya saw a haru no akebono
trans note – Springtime dawns was said by Sei Shōnagon in the opening of her Pillow Book to be the most beautiful dawn ever
Small Pond 