Poem
Shuntaro Tanikawa
Self Introduction
I am an old man, short and baldFor over half a century
I have spent my life grappling with words:
nouns, verbs, postpositional particles, question marks and the like
Now I rather prefer silence
I do not dislike mechanical tools
Though I love trees, too, including shrubs
I am not good at remembering their names
I am somewhat indifferent to dates in the past
I harbor antipathy against so-called authority
I am cross-eyed, astigmatic and presbyopic
My house has no Buddhist altar or Shinto shrine, but
I have a gigantic mail box that connects directly to my room
Sleep is a sort of pleasure for me
If I dream, I do not remember it when I awake
All the above are facts, but
once I put them down in words like this, somehow they do not ring true
I have two independent children and four grandchildren, do not keep a cat or a dog
In summer I am in T-shirts most of the time
A price may be paid for the words I write
© Translation: 2011, Takako Lento
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: Cornell Univ. East Asia Program, , 2011
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: Cornell Univ. East Asia Program, , 2011
自己紹介
自己紹介
私は背の低い禿頭の老人ですもう半世紀以上のあいだ
名詞や動詞や助詞や形容詞や疑問符など
言葉どもに揉まれながら暮らしてきましたから
どちらかと言うと無言を好みます
私は工具類が嫌いではありません
また樹木が灌木も含めて大好きですが
それらの名称を覚えるのは苦手です
私は過去の日付にあまり関心がなく
権威というものに反感をもっています
斜視で乱視で老眼です
家には仏壇も神棚もありませんが
室内に直結の巨大な郵便受けがあります
私にとって睡眠は快楽の一種です
夢は見ても目覚めたときには忘れています
ここに述べていることはすべて事実ですが
こうして言葉にしてしまうとどこか嘘くさい
別居の子ども二人孫四人犬猫は飼っていません
夏はほとんどTシャツで過ごします
私の書く言葉には値段がつくことがあります
© 2007, Shuntaro Tanikawa
From: Watashi (I Myself)
Publisher: Shichosha, Tokyo
From: Watashi (I Myself)
Publisher: Shichosha, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Shuntaro Tanikawa
Close
Self Introduction
I am an old man, short and baldFor over half a century
I have spent my life grappling with words:
nouns, verbs, postpositional particles, question marks and the like
Now I rather prefer silence
I do not dislike mechanical tools
Though I love trees, too, including shrubs
I am not good at remembering their names
I am somewhat indifferent to dates in the past
I harbor antipathy against so-called authority
I am cross-eyed, astigmatic and presbyopic
My house has no Buddhist altar or Shinto shrine, but
I have a gigantic mail box that connects directly to my room
Sleep is a sort of pleasure for me
If I dream, I do not remember it when I awake
All the above are facts, but
once I put them down in words like this, somehow they do not ring true
I have two independent children and four grandchildren, do not keep a cat or a dog
In summer I am in T-shirts most of the time
A price may be paid for the words I write
© 2011, Takako Lento
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: 2011, Cornell Univ. East Asia Program, Tokyo
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: 2011, Cornell Univ. East Asia Program, Tokyo
Self Introduction
I am an old man, short and baldFor over half a century
I have spent my life grappling with words:
nouns, verbs, postpositional particles, question marks and the like
Now I rather prefer silence
I do not dislike mechanical tools
Though I love trees, too, including shrubs
I am not good at remembering their names
I am somewhat indifferent to dates in the past
I harbor antipathy against so-called authority
I am cross-eyed, astigmatic and presbyopic
My house has no Buddhist altar or Shinto shrine, but
I have a gigantic mail box that connects directly to my room
Sleep is a sort of pleasure for me
If I dream, I do not remember it when I awake
All the above are facts, but
once I put them down in words like this, somehow they do not ring true
I have two independent children and four grandchildren, do not keep a cat or a dog
In summer I am in T-shirts most of the time
A price may be paid for the words I write
© 2011, Takako Lento
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: 2011, Cornell Univ. East Asia Program,
From: The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952-2009
Publisher: 2011, Cornell Univ. East Asia Program,
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