From the Sakin poetry collection

His older sister spits blood, his younger sister breathes fire,

and poor Tomino spits his soul.

Tomino falls into hell alone,

a dark ashen hell without flowers.

Is the one striking the whip Tomino's older sister?

Who's bleached it red, I wonder?

Hit and hit harder, don't forget to stop,

an endless hell down one road.

I'll leave you to guide him to this dark hell,

where gold sheep and nightingales lie.

Stash everything into this sack until it's filled up,

prepare yourself for this endless hell.

Spring be coming, in the forest, in the valley,

the swirling vortex leading to hell.

Nightingale in the cage, sheep in the wagon,

poor Tomino starts to cry.

Cry, beautiful voice of the nightingale, to the forest's rain,

yelling, longing to see his younger sister.

Crying echoing through the soul reverberates through hell,

Kitsune-no-botan^[1] flowers bloom.

Hellish torrent destroying the earth,

poor Tomino's lonesome journey.

If they're in Hell bring them,

in the mountain of nails bring me the one that will pin them down.

Don't stab with the red nail though,

the sign of poor Tomino.

Notes

1.↩

Kitsune-no-botan are a kind of flower that is very tiny and grows in the rainforests and rice paddies of Japan and China.