Monism Teaches Oneness 一如 (Ichinyo)
Shirobotan aru no tsuki ni kuzurekeri
The white peony;
At the moon, one evening,
It crumbled and fell.
~Shiki
Translations are quite tricky things. They ask
For huge commitment from the ones who try
To make them. Those who take upon the task
Must know two tongues at least. Just about nigh
Impossible the range of thresholds are.
The grasp of grammars (both) looms absolute.
A hole array of things require by far
Yet more. This one exact attempt, astute
In ways, collapses due to one strict rule
Of English grammar. Was it evening or
The moon which crumbled? One forgotten tool
Was needed. Sense collapsed, flop, on the floor.
The oneness of all things, though, is upheld:
….One flaw caused pretty meaning to be felled.