My Poems by Shō Hō (Yosano Akiko)

Because my songs are brief,
People think I hoarded words.
I have spared nothing in my songs,
There is nothing I can add.
Unlike a fish, my soul swims without gills.
I sing on one breath.

From: http://www.tankaonline.com/About%20Tanka%20and%20Its%20History.htm

Date: 1911 (original in Japanese); 1956 (translation in English)

By: Shō Hō (Yosano Akiko) (1878-1942)

Translated by: Sakanishi Shiho (1896-1976)