falling ill the redness of a pickled plum
yameba umeboshi no akasa
1936–1937 · At the Gochūan hermitage
Sōmokutō · A Landscape of Weeds (Zassō fūkei)
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To eyes that have taken to a sickbed, the redness of a pickled plum stings. For a body with no appetite, the single red thing set beside the rice gruel is vivid, almost too vivid. On the meager tray of illness, only the color remained sharp.