My Life May Appear Melancholy: Ryokan

My life may appear melancholy,
But traveling through this world
I have entrusted myself to Heaven.
In my sack, three sho of rice;
By the hearth, a bundle of firewood.
If someone asks what is the mark of enlightenment
or illusion,
I cannot say—wealth and honor are nothing but dust.
As the evening rain falls I sit in my hermitage
And stretch out both feet in answer.

One sho is about two quarts.

— Zen hermit Ryokan from One Robe, One Bowl / The Zen Poetry of Ryokan, translated by John Stevens