A father returning home cradling the ashes
sweat drips down and down onto the pure-white box
poroporo shitataru ase ga mashiro na hako ni
1937–1938 · Wartime verses
Sōmokutō · The Home Front (Jūgo)
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A father returning home cradling his son's ashes. His sweat drips down, drop by drop, onto the pure-white box. Is it sweat, or tears? The verse says neither. It only gazes at the thing that drips and at the white box.