Poem
Chimako Tada
LEGEND OF THE SNOW
And then, the snow finally started to fallAfter the wind and rain and sand
Stopping all the clocks in the town
The snow slowly accumulated
Upon the towers of ill will
Upon the ramparts of mistrust
Upon the ruts of wheels mired in black mud
Wrapped in a cocoon of snow
The town became legend
A grave of white pumice riddled with holes bored
By spirits the shape of glowworms . . .
(No matter how sick and worn
The old all become beautiful with death)
Where was reconciliation?
The town of mankind forgot its weight
And sent a precarious bloom
Atop a single trembling stalk
Where it continually unfolded, petal after white petal
(Like a deep and gentle wound
That becomes the stage for the divine)
Where was prayer?
After the wind and rain and sand
The snow finally began to fall
Blanketing white nights with white days
Without end
© Translation: 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA, 2010
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA, 2010
LEGEND OF THE SNOW
© 1960, Chimako Tada
From: Tōgijo (The Gladiator\'s Arena)
Publisher: Shoshi Yuriika, Tokyo
From: Tōgijo (The Gladiator\'s Arena)
Publisher: Shoshi Yuriika, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Chimako Tada
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LEGEND OF THE SNOW
And then, the snow finally started to fallAfter the wind and rain and sand
Stopping all the clocks in the town
The snow slowly accumulated
Upon the towers of ill will
Upon the ramparts of mistrust
Upon the ruts of wheels mired in black mud
Wrapped in a cocoon of snow
The town became legend
A grave of white pumice riddled with holes bored
By spirits the shape of glowworms . . .
(No matter how sick and worn
The old all become beautiful with death)
Where was reconciliation?
The town of mankind forgot its weight
And sent a precarious bloom
Atop a single trembling stalk
Where it continually unfolded, petal after white petal
(Like a deep and gentle wound
That becomes the stage for the divine)
Where was prayer?
After the wind and rain and sand
The snow finally began to fall
Blanketing white nights with white days
Without end
© 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
LEGEND OF THE SNOW
And then, the snow finally started to fallAfter the wind and rain and sand
Stopping all the clocks in the town
The snow slowly accumulated
Upon the towers of ill will
Upon the ramparts of mistrust
Upon the ruts of wheels mired in black mud
Wrapped in a cocoon of snow
The town became legend
A grave of white pumice riddled with holes bored
By spirits the shape of glowworms . . .
(No matter how sick and worn
The old all become beautiful with death)
Where was reconciliation?
The town of mankind forgot its weight
And sent a precarious bloom
Atop a single trembling stalk
Where it continually unfolded, petal after white petal
(Like a deep and gentle wound
That becomes the stage for the divine)
Where was prayer?
After the wind and rain and sand
The snow finally began to fall
Blanketing white nights with white days
Without end
© 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
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