Words

On a rainy Thursday, we took a taxi to Shinjuku station and went to see a film by Jim Jarmusch. It was a very slow but a beautiful film and I loved it. It made me want to write again. I immediately ordered a poetry book by William Carlos Williams, and it arrived two days later. It's a collection of his poetry translated in Japanese. A Japanese poet in the film said that poetry in translation is like taking a shower with a raincoat on, and I agree, but it's still nice. I read one or two poems a day from that book after kids go to bed. Funny how one or two poems can fulfill me... "It's just words..." said the bus driver played by Adam Driver, but without words, I realize, I don't feel alive.

A new translation of 「夕立の前」 BEFORE THE SUMMER EVENING RAIN SHOWER by Tanikawa

BEFORE THE SUMMER EVENING RAIN SHOWER
 
Stretching out on a chair like a dog and smelling the air of the summer
The sound of the harpsichord, which enchanted me so much only a moment ago,
Began to seem like some outrageous temptation
It's because of this stillness

Stillness sounds from where a number of faint lives resonate
Hum of horsefly, murmur from the distance, a breeze fluttering the leaves of grass

Can't hear the silence no matter how carefully you listen but
Stillness comes to our ears with ease
Through the dense atmosphere surrounding us

Silence belongs to a dilution of the infinity of the universe

Stillness is rooted in this Earth

But I wonder if I heard enough of it
When a woman accused me, sitting in this same chair
Sharp thorns of her words lead to hair roots intertwined underground
There was tranquility lurking in her voice, refusing to fade away into the silence of death  
Lightening flashed from clouds in the distance to the ground 
After a while, the rumbling of thunder slowly drew a long tail

The sound from the time before humans emerged in this world
We can hear still

---Shuntaro Tanikawa
(Translated by Naoko Smith)

Taken from the bridge near Shinjuku Central Park (7/22/14)

夕立の前（『世間知ラズ』より 1993）

谷川俊太郎

椅子の上でからだを伸ばし犬みたいに夏の空気を嗅ぐと
今しがたぼくをあんなにうっとりさせたチェンバロの音色が
何かけしからん誘惑のようにも思えてくる
それというのもこの静けさのせいだ

静けさはいくつものかすかな命の響き合うところから聞こえる
虻の羽音　遠くのせせらぎ　草の葉を小さく揺らす風......

いくら耳をすませても沈黙を聞くことは出来ないが
静けさは聞こうと思わなくとも聞こえてくる
ぼくらを取り囲む濃密な大気を伝わって
沈黙は宇宙の無限の希薄に属していて
静けさはこの地球に根ざしている

だがぼくはそれを十分に聞いただろうか
この同じ椅子に座って女がぼくを責めたとき
鋭いその言葉の棘は地下でからみあう毛根につながり
声には死の沈黙へと消え去ることを拒む静けさがひそんでいた

はるか彼方の雲から地上へ稲光りが走り
しばらくしてゆっくりと長く雷鳴が尾をひいた
人間がこの世界に出現する以前から響いていた音を
私たちは今なお聞くことが出来る

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冬の日の朝

                                                             夜明け前の空って

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　なんでこんなにうつくしい

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　眠気まなこをこすったり

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　あくびをしたりしてるうちに

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　このほんのり色づいた空は

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　みるみるうちに
　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　おひさまに乗っ取られて

　　　　　　　　　　　　まるで存在すらしなかったかのように

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　消えてなくなってしまう

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　どこか寂しげに

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　どこかいたずらに
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　過ぎて行く瞬間（とき）

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　わたしの大好きな時間