And I can't complain. After all, only women are able really to love.

A child walked by, rolling a metal hoop that made a sound of autumn.

Does pain go away and leave no trace, then?’ ‘You sometimes even feel sentimental for it.

The labor into which a heart has poured its whole love--where will it have its say, to excite and inspire, and when?

But, drawn to her at that moment, he felt a quiet like the voice of the rain flow over him. He knew well enough that for her it was in fact no waste of effort, but somehow the final determination that it was had the effect of distilling and purifying the woman's existence.

Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.

But a haiku by Buson came into his mind: 'I try to forget this senile love; a chilly autumn shower.' The gloom only grew denser.