Ori

“The first candle will, of course, burn out in time. But before this happens, the light from it will be passed on to another candle, and then to another, so that though the candles may change, the light will burn forever, like the light on a Buddhist altar. As the candles change, so will the way in which two people love each other; yet their love, like the light, need never go out.”
― Naoya Shiga, A Dark Night's Passing

“The little lamb's eyes,
desperate for forest water,
must resemble mine.
O you whose love I long for,
how can you understand me?”
― Akiko Yosano, River of Stars: Selected Poems

“Being beautiful, was that for men?'
'Yes. Some women say that it is for ourselves. What on earth can we do with it? I could have loved myself whether I was hunchbacked or lame, but to be loved by others, you had to be beautiful.”
― Jacqueline Harpman, I Who Have Never Known Men

“My shiny black hair
fallen into disarray,
a thousand tangles,
like a thousand tangled thoughts
about my love for you.”
― Akiko Yosano, River of Stars: Selected Poems