a butterfly from behind to the front flutter flutter
chōchō ura kara omote e hirahira
1932–1934 · At the Gochū hermitage
Sōmokutō · One Man Within (Gochū hitori)
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+
A butterfly flutters from the back of the house through to the front. For people there is a back door and a front door, but for the butterfly it is simply a way through. The poem, written all in hiragana, is as light and unmoored as the butterfly's own flight.