"When a man dies..."
by Anna Akhmatova

When a man dies
the portraits of him change.
The eyes have a different look
and the lips smile a different smile.
I noticed this first on coming home
from a certain poet's funeral.
There've been many occasions to check it since.
And I was right.

SOUND OF THE NIGHT
by Xu Yunuo (translated by Michelle Yeh)

In the dark, lonely night
Nothing is visible,
Only a rustling -- the sound of time eating life.

"Needles..."
by Daigu Sochiku

Needles pierce my ailing body, and my pain grows greater.  This life of mine, which has been like a disease -- what is its meaning?  In all the world I haven't a single friend to whom I can unburden my soul.  Truly all that appears to the eye is only a flower that blooms in a day.