As the day breaks,
A man sets out in the morning air,
For a yearly trip to meet her,
Carrying with him a small and fragile box

Dressed in a gray and plain kimono,
He enters the extensive bamboo forest.
The colors of the morning dew on leaf petals
And sounds of the dawning of a new day surround him

Walking up the rocky pathway,
Time passes while he thinks of seeing her again,
Unyielding to the fatigue,
He is propelled forward by memories of her.

All the while,
Uncontrollably smiling at the small things she would be concerned over, 
Slightly laughing at moments when they first met, 
And moved by how strong his emotions for and memories of her lingered. 

A cool gust blows by,
Reminding him of the terrain

Looking around, 
He begins to search 
For an unseen break in the bamboo woods,
That leads to an untouched path 
To where she waits.

After making his way through the thick forest,
He comes upon a small area void of bamboo trees,
With only a tiny glimmer of sunlight passing through
 
Cleaning the area a little, 
He finds three large pebble stones forming a pyramid,
And sits next to it

Opening the small box,
He takes out a piece of cake,
Places a single candle on it and lights it aflame.

He begins to sing,
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you….”
As he waits for a breeze to blow out the candle,

Once the candle flickers into a waxed cylinder,
The man sadly says in a quiet voice “Happy Birthday”