Poem
Shuntaro Tanikawa
Goodbye
My dear liver, it’s time to say GoodbyeIt’s time to part with my dear kidneys and spleen as well
I am about to die
but no one is beside me
so I will say goodbye to all of you
You’ve worked for me for quite a while
you are going to be free now
you may go wherever you wish
once I part from you I will also be free
I will be just my soul, naked
My dear heart, I caused you trouble and palpitations
My dear brain, I caused you to think of trivial matters
My dear eyes, ears, mouth and penis, you worked hard for me
Don’t, all, think ill of me,
I was what I was thanks to you all
Having said that, my future without you is bright
As I will feel free of myself
I will have no hesitation to lose myself
to dissolve into dirt, to disappear into the sky
to become part of those with no words
© 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
さようなら
さようなら
私の肝臓さんよ腎臓さん膵臓さんともお別れだ
私はこれから死ぬところだが
かたわらに誰もいないから
君らに挨拶する
長きにわたって私のために働いてくれたが
これでもう君らは自由だ
どこへなりと立ち去るがいい
君らと別れて私もすっかり身軽になる
魂だけのすっぴんだ
心臓さんよ
脳髄さんよ
目耳口にもちんちんさんにも苦労をかけた
みんなみんな悪く思うな
君らあっての私だったのだから
とは言うものの君ら抜きの未来は明るい
もう私は私に未練がないから
迷わずに私を忘れて
泥に溶けよう空に消えよう
言葉なきものたちの仲間になろう
© 2007, Shuntaro Tanikawa
From: Watashi (I Myself)
Publisher: Shichosha, Tokyo
From: Watashi (I Myself)
Publisher: Shichosha, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Shuntaro Tanikawa
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Goodbye
My dear liver, it’s time to say GoodbyeIt’s time to part with my dear kidneys and spleen as well
I am about to die
but no one is beside me
so I will say goodbye to all of you
You’ve worked for me for quite a while
you are going to be free now
you may go wherever you wish
once I part from you I will also be free
I will be just my soul, naked
My dear heart, I caused you trouble and palpitations
My dear brain, I caused you to think of trivial matters
My dear eyes, ears, mouth and penis, you worked hard for me
Don’t, all, think ill of me,
I was what I was thanks to you all
Having said that, my future without you is bright
As I will feel free of myself
I will have no hesitation to lose myself
to dissolve into dirt, to disappear into the sky
to become part of those with no words
© 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
Goodbye
My dear liver, it’s time to say GoodbyeIt’s time to part with my dear kidneys and spleen as well
I am about to die
but no one is beside me
so I will say goodbye to all of you
You’ve worked for me for quite a while
you are going to be free now
you may go wherever you wish
once I part from you I will also be free
I will be just my soul, naked
My dear heart, I caused you trouble and palpitations
My dear brain, I caused you to think of trivial matters
My dear eyes, ears, mouth and penis, you worked hard for me
Don’t, all, think ill of me,
I was what I was thanks to you all
Having said that, my future without you is bright
As I will feel free of myself
I will have no hesitation to lose myself
to dissolve into dirt, to disappear into the sky
to become part of those with no words
© 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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