a slight bitterness too — the butterbur shoots of my old home
horonigasa mo furusato no fuki no tō
1936–1937 · At Gochū-an hermitage
Sōmokutō · A Landscape of Weeds (Zassō fūkei)
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Tasting butterbur shoots, the first thing to push up in spring, a slight bitterness spreads across the tongue. That bitterness is also the taste of a distant old home. A single sprout of the season quietly teaches that longing always carries a touch of the bitter — bitter, yet somehow warm.