Poem
Masayo Koike
Alley
The small alleyGlimpsed from a fast train
I wonder where it goes?
Perhaps
In my whole life
In this alley where I shall never enter
There
People who I will never brush against
A row of dwellings that I will never see
Fish cooking I will never smell
One by one
All these impossible things lined up beside each other
Then, suddenly, vividly
With a feeling of familiarity stronger than towards any other path
This single alley rises up before me
Now
It’s accompanied by a sure sadness
That I am intimate with.
There myself turning my back standing
Going down the alley slope
Chasing the setting sun
Crossing bridge after bridge
Rapidly disappearing, growing smaller myself
Finally from the end of the alley in which I find myself
The cry of a newborn baby as if a lid has been removed
A hot July day
The day on which I was born
Sprinkled water glistens on the road
© Translation: 2006, Leith Morton
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: Vagabond Press, Sydney, 2006
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: Vagabond Press, Sydney, 2006
路地
路地
素早く走り去る電車から見えたあの小さな路地は
どこへ伸びていくのだろうか
おそらく
わたしが一生
迷い込むことのない小さな路地
そこで
すれ違うことのない人々
見ることのない家並み
嗅ぐことのない魚を焼く匂い
ひとつ、ひとつ
あり得ぬものを並べていく
すると、ふいに、ありありと
ほかのどんな道よりも親しい表情で
ひとつの路地が立ち現れる
今度は
わたしにも見覚えのある
確かな悲しみまでも連れて。
そこに立つ後ろ向きのわたし
坂道を下り
日没を追いかけ
いくつも橋を渡り
どんどん、遠くなる、小さくなるわたし
やがて行きついた路地の奥から
蓋をとったように産声があがる
暑い七月
わたしの生まれた日
打ち水が往来にきらきらとひかっている
© 2001, Masayo Koike
From: Ameotoko, Yamaotoko, Mame o hiku otoko
Publisher: Shinchosha, Tokyo
From: Ameotoko, Yamaotoko, Mame o hiku otoko
Publisher: Shinchosha, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Masayo Koike
Close
Alley
The small alleyGlimpsed from a fast train
I wonder where it goes?
Perhaps
In my whole life
In this alley where I shall never enter
There
People who I will never brush against
A row of dwellings that I will never see
Fish cooking I will never smell
One by one
All these impossible things lined up beside each other
Then, suddenly, vividly
With a feeling of familiarity stronger than towards any other path
This single alley rises up before me
Now
It’s accompanied by a sure sadness
That I am intimate with.
There myself turning my back standing
Going down the alley slope
Chasing the setting sun
Crossing bridge after bridge
Rapidly disappearing, growing smaller myself
Finally from the end of the alley in which I find myself
The cry of a newborn baby as if a lid has been removed
A hot July day
The day on which I was born
Sprinkled water glistens on the road
© 2006, Leith Morton
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: 2006, Vagabond Press, Sydney
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: 2006, Vagabond Press, Sydney
Alley
The small alleyGlimpsed from a fast train
I wonder where it goes?
Perhaps
In my whole life
In this alley where I shall never enter
There
People who I will never brush against
A row of dwellings that I will never see
Fish cooking I will never smell
One by one
All these impossible things lined up beside each other
Then, suddenly, vividly
With a feeling of familiarity stronger than towards any other path
This single alley rises up before me
Now
It’s accompanied by a sure sadness
That I am intimate with.
There myself turning my back standing
Going down the alley slope
Chasing the setting sun
Crossing bridge after bridge
Rapidly disappearing, growing smaller myself
Finally from the end of the alley in which I find myself
The cry of a newborn baby as if a lid has been removed
A hot July day
The day on which I was born
Sprinkled water glistens on the road
© 2006, Leith Morton
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: 2006, Vagabond Press, Sydney
From: Masayo Koike: Selected Poems
Publisher: 2006, Vagabond Press, Sydney
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