Poem
Sayaka Osaki
A Moment of Silence
In this townThere are announcements calling for
A moment of silence
A moment of silence
In the hopes
Of lasting peace
They tell me
A clean
Morning road
A spider connecting
Grass and leaves with its thread
The snooze button
Of the alarm
Of the people rushing
To the station nearby
Far away
The water the tofu shop sprinkles out front
Scatters
Even further still
The dolphins in the sea
Communicate with
The dolphins in the aquarium
Conveying the patterns
Of the underside of the world
On TV, what language
Is that?
An athlete
Is crying
Did he win
Or lose
Or fail to make it
To the game?
I don’t
Really know
The moment of silence
Is over
Thank you
Very much
An irresponsible
Announcement
Creates time
For prayer
Then ends it
So it doesn’t last too long
This is an announcement
About a missing person
The same voice
Does its afternoon work
Information
Cut-and-dry
To be shared
With the masses
When a moment of silence
Functions
To signal
A ceasefire
I wonder
Which country’s language
They use to announce
The moment of silence
(In what ways
Do we want
To put
Our minds at rest?)
At a reasonable distance
Seeking people
You
And I
Shout out
To one another
Don’t go
That’s all
Don’t get any closer
© Translation: 2018, Sayaka Osaki
黙祷
黙祷
この町には黙祷の
アナウンスがある
恒久平和を
ねがって
黙祷
するという
清潔な
朝の道
草と葉を糸で
繋ぐ蜘蛛
近くに
駅へ急ぐ人の
アラームの
スヌーズ
遠くに
豆腐屋の撒く
水が散り
もっと遠く
海のイルカと
水族館のイルカの
交信 地球の
裏側の
もようを伝える
テレビ あれは
何語でしょうか
スポーツ選手が
泣いています
勝ったのか
負けたのか
試合に
出られなかったのか
それはちょっと
わかりません
黙祷を
終わります
ありがとう
ございました
無責任な
アナウンスが
祈りのために
時間をつくり
長すぎないように
終わらせる
行方不明者の
お知らせです
同じ声の人の
午後の仕事
大勢に
拡めるための
ざっくりした
情報
黙祷が
停戦の
合意のために
機能するとき
黙祷は
どの国の言語で
アナウンス
されるのか
（私たちは
どんなふうに
安心
したいのか）
ほどよい距離に
人を求めて
あなたと
わたしは
互いに
叫ぶ
行かないで
それ以上
近づくな
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
Publisher: Seidosha, Tokyo
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
Publisher: Seidosha, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Sayaka Osaki
Close
A Moment of Silence
In this townThere are announcements calling for
A moment of silence
A moment of silence
In the hopes
Of lasting peace
They tell me
A clean
Morning road
A spider connecting
Grass and leaves with its thread
The snooze button
Of the alarm
Of the people rushing
To the station nearby
Far away
The water the tofu shop sprinkles out front
Scatters
Even further still
The dolphins in the sea
Communicate with
The dolphins in the aquarium
Conveying the patterns
Of the underside of the world
On TV, what language
Is that?
An athlete
Is crying
Did he win
Or lose
Or fail to make it
To the game?
I don’t
Really know
The moment of silence
Is over
Thank you
Very much
An irresponsible
Announcement
Creates time
For prayer
Then ends it
So it doesn’t last too long
This is an announcement
About a missing person
The same voice
Does its afternoon work
Information
Cut-and-dry
To be shared
With the masses
When a moment of silence
Functions
To signal
A ceasefire
I wonder
Which country’s language
They use to announce
The moment of silence
(In what ways
Do we want
To put
Our minds at rest?)
At a reasonable distance
Seeking people
You
And I
Shout out
To one another
Don’t go
That’s all
Don’t get any closer
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
A Moment of Silence
In this townThere are announcements calling for
A moment of silence
A moment of silence
In the hopes
Of lasting peace
They tell me
A clean
Morning road
A spider connecting
Grass and leaves with its thread
The snooze button
Of the alarm
Of the people rushing
To the station nearby
Far away
The water the tofu shop sprinkles out front
Scatters
Even further still
The dolphins in the sea
Communicate with
The dolphins in the aquarium
Conveying the patterns
Of the underside of the world
On TV, what language
Is that?
An athlete
Is crying
Did he win
Or lose
Or fail to make it
To the game?
I don’t
Really know
The moment of silence
Is over
Thank you
Very much
An irresponsible
Announcement
Creates time
For prayer
Then ends it
So it doesn’t last too long
This is an announcement
About a missing person
The same voice
Does its afternoon work
Information
Cut-and-dry
To be shared
With the masses
When a moment of silence
Functions
To signal
A ceasefire
I wonder
Which country’s language
They use to announce
The moment of silence
(In what ways
Do we want
To put
Our minds at rest?)
At a reasonable distance
Seeking people
You
And I
Shout out
To one another
Don’t go
That’s all
Don’t get any closer
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
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