day breaking, i whet the sickle
akete kuru kama o togu
1933–1934 · Begging journeys out from the hermitage
Sōmokutō · On the Begging Road (Gyōkotsu tojō)
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In the light beginning to whiten, there is the sound of a sickle being whetted. The blade honed sharper, and the sky breaking open. The taut, cold time before a day's labor begins, cut clean by a few short words.