Sad Moonlit Night

Sakutaro Hagiwara 1886 (Maebashi) – 1942 (Tokyo)



Drat that snatch-thief dog,
He howls at the moon from the rotting pier.
When the soul pricks up its ears,
It hears the shrill girls choiring,
Choiring
With their gloomy voices,
By the somber stone wall out at the pier.

Why is it always this way
with me?
Listen, you dog, you.
Tell me, you pale-blue, unhappy dog, you.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

18 sec read
183

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXAAXB XXCC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 315
Words 61
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 4

Sakutaro Hagiwara

Sakutarō Hagiwara was a Japanese writer of free-style verse, active in the Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He liberated Japanese free verse from the grip of traditional rules, and he is considered the “father of modern colloquial poetry in Japan”. He published many volumes of essays, literary and cultural criticism, and aphorisms over his long career. His unique style of verse expressed his doubts about existence, and his fears, ennui, and anger through the use of dark images and unambiguous wording. more…

All Sakutaro Hagiwara poems | Sakutaro Hagiwara Books

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