Tanka Translation 100: Samio Maekawa

100 Samio Maekawa（前川佐美雄）
ぞろぞろと鳥けだものをひきつれて秋晴の街にあそび行きたし
zorozoro to tori kedamono o hikitsurete akibare no machi ni asobiyukitashi
                    with my entourage
                    of birds and animals
                    I would like to enjoy the city
                    on a day with autumn clear sky

野にかへり野に爬虫類をやしなふはつひに復讐にそなへむがため
no ni kaeri no ni hachûrui o yashinau wa tsui ni fukushû ni sonaen ga tame
                    going back to the fields
                    and raising a reptile 
                    finally I’m ready to prepare
                    for a revenge

夕焼のにじむ白壁に声絶えてほろびうせたるものの爪あと
yûyake no nijimu shirakabe ni koe taete horobi usetaru mono no tsumeato
                    white wall blurred by sunset
                    no more voice
                    but the scars left
                    by the extinct

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