Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Masayo Koike

The Ashtray and the Girl

The girl who takes a dose of youthful souls
Who doesn’t bow is still effective

The end of summer
In the middle of the road
Lying on its back dead a Brown Baker cicada

In the aunt’s folded fan
Jammed within this year’s butterfly is dead

In the tobacconist at the bottom of the slope
Not moving an inch the perpectual shop assistant

Children gleam
Fish or skylarks
Sped off in the direction of the sea-tang

In the forlorn, tiny universe dog dung remains

The power of green binds the window
All the trees silently burst into flame
Z, zzz, zzzz
Buzzing green

Afternoon in the locked music room
A strange chord can be heard

On top of the piano
The ashtray and the girl
Matches and a bundle of small candles

‘Take off your socks’
‘Keep your skirt on’

The girl’s legs are slowly opened
In the inlet giddy students in the grade above

Looking from afar another girl
This summer
Binds all their pasts together
Travelling behind them

From tomorrow all     will begin their end

灰皿と少女

灰皿と少女

少年の霊魂を服用している
おじぎしない少女は有効である

夏の終わり
道の途中で
仰向けになって死んでいるあぶらぜみ

折りたたまれた叔母の扇子には
今年の蝶がはさまれて死んでいた

坂の下にある煙草店では
身動きひとつしない永遠の店番が

子供らは光り
魚かひばり
海の匂いのする方面へ散っていく

寂寞の小宇宙には犬の糞が残っている

緑の力が窓をしばりあげ
木々のすべてが静かに燃え上がる
ざ、ざわ、わめく
ざわめく緑

鍵のかかった音楽室に
不思議な和音が響いている午後

ピアノの上には
灰皿と少女
マッチと小さな蝋燭の束

「靴下をぬいで」
「スカートは履いたまま」

少女の足がゆっくりと広げられて
入り江にめまいする上級生たち

遠くから見ていたもうひとりの少女
今年の夏が
全過去をひきずって
彼らの背後を通過していく

明日よりみんな 晩年を始める
Close

The Ashtray and the Girl

The girl who takes a dose of youthful souls
Who doesn’t bow is still effective

The end of summer
In the middle of the road
Lying on its back dead a Brown Baker cicada

In the aunt’s folded fan
Jammed within this year’s butterfly is dead

In the tobacconist at the bottom of the slope
Not moving an inch the perpectual shop assistant

Children gleam
Fish or skylarks
Sped off in the direction of the sea-tang

In the forlorn, tiny universe dog dung remains

The power of green binds the window
All the trees silently burst into flame
Z, zzz, zzzz
Buzzing green

Afternoon in the locked music room
A strange chord can be heard

On top of the piano
The ashtray and the girl
Matches and a bundle of small candles

‘Take off your socks’
‘Keep your skirt on’

The girl’s legs are slowly opened
In the inlet giddy students in the grade above

Looking from afar another girl
This summer
Binds all their pasts together
Travelling behind them

From tomorrow all     will begin their end

The Ashtray and the Girl

The girl who takes a dose of youthful souls
Who doesn’t bow is still effective

The end of summer
In the middle of the road
Lying on its back dead a Brown Baker cicada

In the aunt’s folded fan
Jammed within this year’s butterfly is dead

In the tobacconist at the bottom of the slope
Not moving an inch the perpectual shop assistant

Children gleam
Fish or skylarks
Sped off in the direction of the sea-tang

In the forlorn, tiny universe dog dung remains

The power of green binds the window
All the trees silently burst into flame
Z, zzz, zzzz
Buzzing green

Afternoon in the locked music room
A strange chord can be heard

On top of the piano
The ashtray and the girl
Matches and a bundle of small candles

‘Take off your socks’
‘Keep your skirt on’

The girl’s legs are slowly opened
In the inlet giddy students in the grade above

Looking from afar another girl
This summer
Binds all their pasts together
Travelling behind them

From tomorrow all     will begin their end
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère