Poetry of Dogen Kigen

Bowing Formally

A snowy heron
on the snowfield
where winter grass is unseen
hides itself
in its own figure.

The Body Born Before the Parents

The village I finally reach
deeper than the deep mountains
indeed
the capital
were I used to live!

On the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

Waves recede.
Not even the wind ties up
a small abandoned boat.
the moon is a clear
mark of midnight.

Mountain Seclusion

I won’t even stop
at the valley’s brook
for fear that
my shadow
may flow into the world.

The Body Born Before the Parents

The village I finally reach
deeper than the deep mountains
indeed
the capital
were I used to live!

On the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

Waves recede.
Not even the wind ties up
a small abandoned boat.
the moon is a clear
mark of midnight.

Mountain Seclusion

I won’t even stop
at the valley’s brook
for fear that
my shadow
may flow into the world.