Semi no koe
Ki-gi ni ugoite,
Kaze mo nashi!
--SOYO.
Every tree in the wood quivers with clamor of semi:
Motion only of noise--never a breath of wind!
Take ni kite,
Yuki yori omoshi
Semi no koe.
--TOGETSU.
More heavy than winter-snow the voices of perching semi:
See how the bamboos bend under the weight of their song![31]
[31] Japanese artists have found many a charming
inspiration in the spectacle of bamboos bending
under the weight of snow clinging to their tops.
Morogoe ni
Yama ya ugokasu,
Ki-gi no semi.
All shrilling together, the multitudinous semi
Make, with their ceaseless clamor, even the mountain move.
Kusunoki mo
Ugoku yo nari,
Semi no koe.
--BAIJAKU.
Even the camphor-tree seems to quake with the clamor of semi!