Sitting alone in the hermitage
when the heart settles the sound of water
kokoro ochitsukeba mizu no oto
1937–1938 · Late Gochū-an period
Sōmokutō · Persimmon Leaves (Kaki no ha)
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 poem headed "sitting alone in the hermitage." Only when the heart settles does the sound of water, which was there all along, become audible. It is not that the sound changed, but that he did. A poem that reaches gently even an ear just waking. What will you hear this morning?