Unlatching The Door

From outside my house,
only the faint distant sound
of gentle breeze
wandering through bamboo leaves
in the long evening silence.

Late evening finally
comes: I unlatch the door
and quietly
await the one
who greets me in my dreams.

-Otomo no Yakamochi 大伴 家持 (718 – 05 October 785)

Man'yoshu is the very first poetry anthology in Japanese history and Yakamochi who lived during the Nara period 奈良時代 was one of the compilers. He contributed several poems of his own.

Image: Shadows start to lengthen and the evening stealthily comes to this bamboo grove somewhere just above Nepaltar in Ilam district. Through the unlatched arched bamboo doorway I espy a teeny weeny channeled streamlet. A gentle breeze wafts through the bamboo leaves. And I await the the one who greets me in my dreams.