My Soul’s Homeland
By Anna keiko

If I had an acre of good land,
A thatched cot to shelter from cold and summer heat,
Why would I cram into concrete and steel?
However large a house, its bounds are seen,
But human hearts remain unfathomed deep.

Wild paths with flowers, fragrance all-natural,
Though thousands of lanes and alleys catch my eye,
If the heart faces light, everywhere shines bright.
Lamps light up faces, yet power and wealth hold sway.

In vain I was born into this age of bloom and bustle,
Tainted by the sweeping tides of this worldly way.

My heart dwells on an isle,
Watching the empty vastness all around.
A gourd of water, a simple meal,
Suffice to make my heart brim with sunlit fields.