this hopeless self of mine walking along
dō shiyō mo nai watashi ga aruite iru
1930 · On the begging road
Sōmokutō · The Begging Bowl (Hachi no ko)
Wake to this poem.
Santōka Alarm is an iOS app that wakes you each morning with a single poem.
Set a poem you love as your alarm.
iOS 26+
Unable to give up drink, unable to settle anywhere — a hopeless self. And still, today too, that self is walking. Neither self-loathing nor bravado, the poem affirms a no-good self exactly as it is, no-good and all.