Book of Rocks

broken masses of stone
impenetrable hardness

brushstrokes like small ax cuts

seeing her black hair, a rill in a valley on the moon

difference of the distances
between them was silence, recognition

water had transformed too many seasons

soon, he settled his thoughts

avoid stones and rocks with one face
lines without life

yoko gaki, horizontal stroke
hidari haro, left downward stroke

Italicized text is from "The Art of Sumi-E: Appreciation, Techniques and Application" by Shozo Sato, Kodansha International Ltd., 1984.