Saturday, September 14, 2013

A new translation of "The poet" (詩人) by Shuntaro Tanikawa (谷川俊太郎)

The poet
                                      from "Superman and many others"
                                by Shuntaro Tanikawa (trans. by Naoko Ishikura)

The poet always looks in the mirror, whenever there is a mirror
In order to check whether or not he is a poet
Writing poems doesn't make him a poet, but 
He can tell at first glance by looking in the mirror
That's his own theory
The poet is dreaming of his face becoming a postage stamp one day
If possible, he says he wants to become a real cheap stamp
Because that way, he gets to be licked by many people
The wife of the poet is cooking yakisoba noodles
With a sulky look


詩人          
        『スーパーマンその他大勢』より
           谷川俊太郎

詩人は鏡があると必ずのぞきこみます
自分が詩人であるかどうかたしかめるのです
詩人かどうかは詩を読んでも分からないが
鏡を見ればひとめで分かるというのが持論です
詩人はいつの日か自分の顔が
切手になるのを夢見ているのです
できればうんと安い切手になりたいんですって
そのほうが沢山の人になめてもらえるから
詩人の奥さんは焼きそばをつくりながら
仏頂面をしています







1 comment:

  1. if i were a stamp
    please put me on a postcard
    "wishing you were here"

    ReplyDelete