A Poem by Akiko Yosano

Even at nineteen I knew The violet would fade, The brook would dry up, And life would pass away. Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from Midaregami trans. Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda

Three Poems by Hồ Chí Minh

Advice to Oneself Without the cold and desolation of winter There could not be the warmth and splendor of spring. Calamity has tempered and hardened me, And turned my mind to steel.