The Sennin refer to the twelve Taoist immortals. But Ezra never quite leaves things as they are. For the Turtle is fatherless and his spawn are the accursed: those with no father or lineage. I may know too much Chinese folk religion for my own good.

Always treat a translation as a new poem. It has to stand or fall by itself: if you translate you transplant it from one culture and set of images to another.

And consider if you need to know what a sennin is. Or is this sennin a turtle.

Sennin Poem By Kakuhaku

The red and green kingfishers
flash between the orchids and clover,
One bird casts its gleam on another.
Green vines hang through the high forest,
They weave a whole roof to the mountain,
The lone man sits with shut speech,
He purrs and pats the clear strings.
He throws his heart up through the sky,
He bites through the flower pistil
and brings up a fine fountain.
The red-pine-tree god looks at him and wonders.
He rides through the purple smoke to visit the sennin,
He takes ‘Floating Hill’ by the sleeve,
He claps his hand on the back of the great water sennin.

But you, you dam’d crowd of gnats,
Can you even tell the age of a turtle?

Ezra Pound