hana chirite shizuka ni narinu hito-gokoro

the blossoms have fallen:
our minds are now
tranquil

© Koyu-Ni (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

Or translated by our host:

tranquility –
finally I have found peace,
blossoms have fallen

© Koyu-Ni (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

The tranquility can be juxtaposed to the hesitant excitement when the buds are bursting, it can even be expressed as a pain. Consider this excerpt of Karin Boye’s poem:

Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking.
Why else would the springtime falter?
Why would all our ardent longing
bind itself in frozen, bitter pallor?
After all, the bud was covered all the winter.
What new thing is it that bursts and wears?
Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking,
hurts for that which grows
       and that which bars.
(Full poem)

That brief period between tranquility and pain, between the pain of birth and tranquility of aging, is where we tend to focus our lives. The bliss of youth, the bliss of blooming cherry trees, when clouds of pinkish petals dress the trees in gowns of youth and hope. Maybe we forget the tranquility that awaits, the long summer-days of laid-back happiness of being.