Tsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara
The world of dew —
A world of dew it is indeed,
And yet, and yet . . .
—Issa
Thank you for this world of dew,
for dew enough to fill a cup,
to fill my small cup to brimming,
though some mornings all the dew’s been spilled.
It matters not the hand that spilled it,
though there is a tug toward blame.
In the story, the Hindu master pours the cup
too full, and when the tea begins to spill
the scientists appeal to him in shock.
You are too full, he says to them.
Come back to me when you are empty.
Then we’ll talk.
World, thank you for emptying me.
And thank you for my cup, for this
fragile cup with it’s long thin cracks.
Thank you for my thirst,
this thirst so deep sometimes
I beg for one more sip.
And thank you for these lips
that beg, thank you for the empty cup,
and thank you for the sometimes dew.