Poem
Hiroshi Kawasaki
SO VERY
What’s that,so far away –
something running extremely fast,
so far, far
away,
being beaten black and blue,
as if its body has been thrashed
to a pulp,
as if it’s making
a faint, faint sound?
Incredibly fast . . .
Is some old friend of mine
having
a terrible time of it?
Is every loathsome memory of mine
running
this way
with unstoppable force?
Or
is a car
overloaded with flowers
being torn apart
and laughing strangely?
Incredibly fast, that . . .
So very far away.
© Translation: 2006, William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura
SO VERY
![](/media/4/7179_org_poem_hk_sovery.gif)
© 1968, Hiroshi Kawasaki
From: Poems
Publisher: Kokubunsha,
From: Poems
Publisher: Kokubunsha,
Poems
Poems of Hiroshi Kawasaki
Close
SO VERY
What’s that,so far away –
something running extremely fast,
so far, far
away,
being beaten black and blue,
as if its body has been thrashed
to a pulp,
as if it’s making
a faint, faint sound?
Incredibly fast . . .
Is some old friend of mine
having
a terrible time of it?
Is every loathsome memory of mine
running
this way
with unstoppable force?
Or
is a car
overloaded with flowers
being torn apart
and laughing strangely?
Incredibly fast, that . . .
So very far away.
© 2006, William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura
From: Poems
From: Poems
SO VERY
What’s that,so far away –
something running extremely fast,
so far, far
away,
being beaten black and blue,
as if its body has been thrashed
to a pulp,
as if it’s making
a faint, faint sound?
Incredibly fast . . .
Is some old friend of mine
having
a terrible time of it?
Is every loathsome memory of mine
running
this way
with unstoppable force?
Or
is a car
overloaded with flowers
being torn apart
and laughing strangely?
Incredibly fast, that . . .
So very far away.
© 2006, William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura
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