Poem
Chimako Tada
PUTTING ON MY FACE
Facing the mirror, I put on my faceApply a thin layer of makeup
But not like usual this time, not like each night
Tonight, I become an adolescent boy!
A fifteen-year-old boy’s shirt and blazer
A fifteen-year-old boy’s slacks
Strangely enough, they fit me well
I become a boy just before his beard comes in
This bet I wager takes hardly any cash
Not even as dangerous as a bet I suppose
Secretly switch jack for queen
And all is well, no one will know
(Repaint a rusty boat and at the right time
The launching ceremony will commence
All eyes on deck focused on the bow)
No longer will I envy any man or woman
I do not need perfume or pistols
Just think and I can be
Concrete woman
Or abstract man
The night grows long
Preparations done, I am ready to go
Among people who are
Neither husband nor lover
Farewell, unfamiliar adolescent in the mirror
Until that boyish dawn one step this side of man
© 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
PUTTING ON MY FACE
© 1971, Chimako Tada
From: Nise no nendaiki (A False Record of Ages)
Publisher: Yamanashi Shiruku Center, Tokyo
From: Nise no nendaiki (A False Record of Ages)
Publisher: Yamanashi Shiruku Center, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Chimako Tada
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PUTTING ON MY FACE
Facing the mirror, I put on my faceApply a thin layer of makeup
But not like usual this time, not like each night
Tonight, I become an adolescent boy!
A fifteen-year-old boy’s shirt and blazer
A fifteen-year-old boy’s slacks
Strangely enough, they fit me well
I become a boy just before his beard comes in
This bet I wager takes hardly any cash
Not even as dangerous as a bet I suppose
Secretly switch jack for queen
And all is well, no one will know
(Repaint a rusty boat and at the right time
The launching ceremony will commence
All eyes on deck focused on the bow)
No longer will I envy any man or woman
I do not need perfume or pistols
Just think and I can be
Concrete woman
Or abstract man
The night grows long
Preparations done, I am ready to go
Among people who are
Neither husband nor lover
Farewell, unfamiliar adolescent in the mirror
Until that boyish dawn one step this side of man
© 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
PUTTING ON MY FACE
Facing the mirror, I put on my faceApply a thin layer of makeup
But not like usual this time, not like each night
Tonight, I become an adolescent boy!
A fifteen-year-old boy’s shirt and blazer
A fifteen-year-old boy’s slacks
Strangely enough, they fit me well
I become a boy just before his beard comes in
This bet I wager takes hardly any cash
Not even as dangerous as a bet I suppose
Secretly switch jack for queen
And all is well, no one will know
(Repaint a rusty boat and at the right time
The launching ceremony will commence
All eyes on deck focused on the bow)
No longer will I envy any man or woman
I do not need perfume or pistols
Just think and I can be
Concrete woman
Or abstract man
The night grows long
Preparations done, I am ready to go
Among people who are
Neither husband nor lover
Farewell, unfamiliar adolescent in the mirror
Until that boyish dawn one step this side of man
© 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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