at last it opened and it was a white flower
yatto saite shiroi hana datta
1937–1938 · Late years at Gochū-an
Sōmokutō · Persimmon Leaves (Kaki no ha)
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The flower, whose color could not be told while it was in bud, opened at last and turned out to be white. After all that waiting, the plainest, least adorned of colors. The past tense of "it was" holds the small relief of a little discovery.