In the clear bell of a cloudless night, there appeared a sixteenth night moon.
A throng of fishing boats bathed in the moonlight at port in their moorings.
It was a calm January night; the sea was calm.
Hyodo-san and I stayed around awhile, taking in the port in silence.
Homeground was the word on my mind.
I felt like I'd cry with Hyodo-san, us clasping each other.
Will you have a cup of tea in my house? Hyodo-san asked.
A once in a lifetime thing, oh to have a cup of hot tea with him in his house.
But I answered, No, I will go home now.
I went off to walk my moonroad alone; as I chanced to look back,
so did Hyodo-san at that instant.
To never again bring down the virgin forest that grows on the Yakushima Island
was the topic of our meeting,
And the night was full by the time we were done.
note:
1) a sixteenth night: It is called Izayoi in traditional Japanese. In the lunar calendar we start counting a night from a new moon, and a fifteenth night is a full moon called Jugoya. A sixteenth night is the next day of Jugoya and the moon appears later than Jugoya.
2) homeground: Sansei often uses this word in his poems. He expresses an essential home or land for an individual or one tribe by this word. For him a homeground does not always mean the land where someone was born. Sansei was born in Tokyo, but he lived on Yakushima Island from 1977 to his death, over 20 years as a poet and a peasant. He loved it there very much, and he thought Yakushima was his homeground. Sansei also wrote about homeground in his poem in this manner:
The sea is our life's homeground.
We are born from the sea, and we return to it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(translated on 14 September 2002)
From 'Birouba boushi no shita de/Yamao Sansei's Poetry' 1993 Published in Yasosha
Copyright 1993 by Sansei Yamao
English translation Copyright 2002 by Marek Lugowski, Ruth Foley, Kazue D.
Artwork Copyright 2002 by Yoshimi
----------------------------------------------------------------------
back to the top
another poems by Sansei Yamao: "Mitto-kun and a cloud", "Make the fire", "Dawn Cafe Au Leit", "At the Mountain"
|
|
Kumo hitotsu nai tenshin ni, Izayoi no tsuki ga atta.
Minato ni wa nanso mo no gyosen ga moyawareta mama, tsuki no hikari wo abite ita.
Namioto hitotsu shinai, shizukana ichigatu no yoru de atta.
Hyodo-san to futari de
Shibaraku sono minato no tatazumai wo damatte nagameta.
Genkyo to iu kotoba ga boku no uchi ni wa atta.
Boku wa Hyodo-san to daki atte nakitai kimochi de atta.
Ocha wo nonde yuki masenka?
To Hyodo-san ga itta.
Konban hodo ippai no atsui ocha wo, Hyodo-san to tomo ni Hyodo-san no otaku de nomitai ban wa nakatta.
Keredomo boku wa
Ie, konban wa konomama kaeri masu, to ii
Hitori toshite no boku no tsuki no michi e to aruite itta.
Boku ga furikaetta toki, chodo Hyodo-san mo furikaetta tokoro de atta.
Yakushima no genseirin wo kore ijo ippon mo kiraseruna,
To iu shinya ni itaru made no hanashiai wo oete, kaette kita yoru de atta.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From 'Birouba boushi no shita de/Yamao Sansei shishu' 1993 Published in Yasosha
Copyright 1993 by Sansei Yamao
English translation Copyright 2002 by Marek Lugowski, Ruth Foley, Kazue D.
Artwork Copyright 2002 by Yoshimi
----------------------------------------------------------------------
back to the top
another poems by Sansei Yamao: "Mitto-kun to kumo", "Hi wo takinasai", "Yoake no kafe ore", "At the Mountain"
|
|