Undefeated by the rain

Unbowed by the rain.
Unbowed by the wind.
Unbowed by snow or summer heat.
Sound of body.

Coveting nothing.
Never angry.
Always quietly smiling.

Eating four cups of rice, miso and a few greens each day...
Leaving himself out of the account.

Watching, listening, understanding and not forgetting.
Living in the shade of a pine grove, in a field, in a small thatched hut.

To the sick child in the east he tends.
To the tired mother in the west he bears sheaves of rice.
To one dying in the south he says "do not fear".
To quarrels or lawsuits in the north he says "Be not petty".

In drought he weeps.
In a cold summer he paces.

Called a fool.
Not praised, not criticised:

I want to be that kind of man.

Miyazawa Kenji