Tanka Translation 92: Kuniyo Takayasu

92  Kuniyo Takayasu（高安国世）

わが前の空間に黒きものきたり鳩となりつつ風に浮べり

waga mae no kûkan ni kuroki mono kitari hato to naritsutsu kaze ni ukaberi

a black thing comes

to the space In front of me

while changing into a pigeon

it floats in the wind

 

北側の人なき室はいつ来ても航きゆく船の如く風鳴る

kitagawa no hito naki heya wa itsu kitemo ikiyuku fune no gotoku kaze naru

whenever I come to this empty room

in the north side of a house

the wind makes a noise

like a ship on a voyage

 

 

ゆるくゆるく過ぐる病院の一日よ忘れいし生命の速度と思う

yurukuyuruku suguru byôin no ichinichi yo wasureishi inochi no sokudo to omou

a day at the hospital

passing slowly, slowly

I think this is the speed

of life I forgot

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan