POEMS OF SOLITARY DELIGHTS

Tachibana Akemi 1812 - 1868

What a delight it is

When on the bamboo matting

In my grass-thatched hut,

All on my own,

I make myself at ease.

What a delight it is

When, skimming through the pages

Of a book, I discover

A man written there

Who is just like me.

What a delight it is

When everyone admits

It’s a very difficult book,

And I understand it

With no trouble at all.

What a delight it is

When a guest you cannot stand

Arrives, then says to you

“I’m afraid I can’t stay long,”

And soon goes home.

Tachibana Akemi was Japanese poet and classical scholar.  He lived in voluntary poverty but that environment inspired "some of his most endearing poems, those describing the little pleasures of a poor scholar's life."

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