Sitting alone in my empty room My mind restless and downcast I saddle my horse and ride far, far away Climb to a height And gaze out over the distant scene A whirlwind springs up, shaking the earth In no time at all, the sun sinks in the west Broad rivers churn with foaming waves Fields stretch endlessly past the horizon Black monkeys call to their companions With melancholy cries geese wing their way south A hundred cares line my brow Ten thousand troubles rend my heart I want to return but I've lost the way Here it is, the end of another year What am I to do? - Ryokan