New on Poetry

Bombing of Poems Opening Program Hardop!

Poem

Toshio Nakae

Side by side

Original language

CHAIR

You sit in the chair
with Silence yielding to you
but you stand up right away
Silence sits back down in it

Utter no words —
your words vanish
into the darkness you have left behind

© Translation: 2007, Takako Lento

CHAIR

© 1957, Toshio Nakae
From: Ansei no uta
Publisher: Matoba Shoten, Tokyo

Toshio Nakae

Toshio Nakae

“He is a poet, first and foremost, ahead of any personal experiences”— Shuntaro Tanikawa. “A poet of constant change . . . not through following fashion but by pursuing the essential freedom of poetry” — Tooru Kitagawa. “He survives by singing about the infinite cosmos in which he lives” — Hiroshi Mio. These are some of the words to describe one of the most original poets in post-WWII Japan,...

Countries

Discover other poems and poets from Japan

Poems Poets

Languages

Discover other poems and poets in Japanese

Poems Poets

Poems

Poems of Toshio Nakae

A KIMONO

THIS WORLD

A HOUSE FOR STARS

NIGHT AND FANGS

13

LAMENT

NIGHT AND FISH

A LOVE SONG

A POET-ANIMAL

SOUNDS

Close

CHAIR

You sit in the chair
with Silence yielding to you
but you stand up right away
Silence sits back down in it

Utter no words —
your words vanish
into the darkness you have left behind

© 2007, Takako Lento
From: Ansei no uta

CHAIR

You sit in the chair
with Silence yielding to you
but you stand up right away
Silence sits back down in it

Utter no words —
your words vanish
into the darkness you have left behind

© 2007, Takako Lento

Sponsors