Semi wo kike,—
Ichi-nichi naite
Yoru no tsuyu.—Kikaku.
Hear the semi shrill! So, from earliest dawning,
All the summer day he cries for the dew of night
Yū-tsuyu no
Kuchi ni iru made
Naku semi ka?—Baishitsu.
Will semi continue to cry till the night-dew fills its mouth?
Occasionally the semi is mentioned in love-songs of which the following is a fair specimen. It belongs to that class of ditties[1] commonly sung by geisha. Merely as a conceit, I think it pretty, in spite of the factitious[2] pathos; but to Japanese taste it is decidedly vulgar. The allusion to beating implies jealousy:—
Nushi ni tatakare,
Washa matsu no semi
Sugaritsuki-tsuki
Naku bakari!
Beaten by my jealous lover,—
Like the semi on the pine-tree
I can only cry and cling!
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