Poem for Sunday and Fall Great Falls

Tanka
By Sadakichi Hartmann

I.

Winter? Spring? Who knows?
White buds from the plumtrees wing
And mingle with the snows.
No blue skies these flowers bring,
Yet their fragrance augurs Spring.

II.

Oh, were the white waves,
Far on the glimmering sea
That the moonshine laves,
Dream flowers drifting to me,--
I would cull them, love, for thee.

III.

Moon, somnolent, white,
Mirrored in a waveless sea,
What fickle mood of night
Urged thee from heaven to flee
And live in the dawnlit sea?

IV.

Like mist on the leas,
Fall gently, oh rain of Spring
On the orange trees
That to Ume's casement cling--
Perchance, she'll hear the love-bird sing.

V.

Though love has grown cold
The woods are bright with flowers,
Why not as of old
Go to the wildwood bowers
And dream of--bygone hours!

VI.

Tell, what name beseems
These vain and wandering days!
Like the bark of dreams
That from souls at daybreak strays
They are lost on trackless ways.

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Saturday was as chilly as Friday but sunny and beautiful. We had a quiet morning doing household stuff, then had an early lunch and went to pick up Daniel from the airport after his interview in Madison (where it was cold and snowy, but they fed him well and he loved the campus). Because it was a gorgeous day, we went from Dulles to Great Falls, Virginia, where the water was surprisingly low but there were not a lot of people and we had gorgeous views of the river.















Daniel had a big homework project to work on when we came home, so we had Mexican food for dinner and hung out watching the Maryland-Michigan State game. Suffice to say that things did not end well for the Terrapins, though they didn't play terribly, just blew a couple of big plays that they really needed to beat a ranked team. Adam was at the game and posted a picture of himself with UMD president Wallace Loh, who was apparently hanging out in the student section!