Two Waka Verses about Old Age

“Although only my heart is young
How envious I am of my youthful body
The cuckoo bird sounds noisy to my aging ear
Reminiscing the first cuckoo bird heard singing in spring.”
　(Excerpt)
There are two waka poem verses written by Takuan Soho about himself in an aging state of life. It is considered to have been written in his last year before his death, at the age of seventy three. They were written in December. In the midst of cold winter, the state of “Oiraku” (facing aging) is supremely emanated in the graceful expression in this poem.