A poem from Ryokan 良寛

I appreciate very much the analogy Ryokan makes between the echo and our lives in this world.

世の中は
何にたとへん

山彦の

こたふる聲の
空しきがごと

Yo no naka wa
nani ni tatoen
yamabiko no

kotauru koe no
munashiki ga goto

Our life in this world–
to what shall I compare it?
Its like an echo
resounding through the mountains
and off into the empty sky.
(Translated by Steven D. Carter)