Poem
Makoto Ooka
Daybreak Leaf Alive
Somehow there wasa cool rain bathing
the fruit’s insides
that dawn
The leek and the tofu
turned into beads of fragrant scent,
vying in lightness with the light
And also the waves of the woman’s robe,
carelessly flung on the floor
Hand resting on the chilly phone,
she was staring at the sand
as it began to lighten
Even gulls melted into the hush,
the tide heavy at dawn
Awake
the whole night through,
was there a border for them
between today and yesterday?
The two were a cave that admitted heaven,
a map that filled the cave, a mandala of love
And yet somehow
the woman
was a forest of fragrance,
was the light of dawn,
running to the dawn’s own depths
I saw a single leaf
go mad with joy at the sound
of a waterfall high in the blue sky
Somehow the leaf
was taking a leisure of a field
Somehow
that single leaf's words
went on
forever
and they were mine
From: Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets
Publisher: Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1995
Publisher: Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1995
あかつき葉っぱが生きている
あかつき葉っぱが生きている
なぜかくだものの内がわへ
涼しい雨足がたっていたのだ
その明け方
葱と豆腐は
香ばしい匂いの粒になって
光と軽さをきそっていたのだ
そしておんなの脱ぎすてた
寝巻の波もまた
冷たい受話器に手をもたれ
砂が光りはじめるのを
見つめていたのだ
鷗も溶けるしずかな
潮の重いあけがた
ひと晩じゅう
眠らなかった者たちに
昨日と今日の境目が
あっただろうか
ふたりは天を容れるほらあなだった
そこに充ちるマンダラの地図だった
それでもおんなは
なぜか
香ばしい森だったのだ
あかつきの奥へ走る
あかつきの光だったのだ
たからかな蒼空の瀧音に
恍惚となったいちまいの
葉っぱを見たのだ
葉っぱはなぜか
野のへりを
ゆっくりと旅していたのだ
なぜか
そのいちまいの葉っぱは
ぼくの言葉で
ひっきりなしに
しゃべっていたのだ
© 1972, Makato Ooka
Audio recording from Poetry International Festival Rotterdam, 1976
Poems
Poems of Makoto Ooka
Close
Daybreak Leaf Alive
Somehow there wasa cool rain bathing
the fruit’s insides
that dawn
The leek and the tofu
turned into beads of fragrant scent,
vying in lightness with the light
And also the waves of the woman’s robe,
carelessly flung on the floor
Hand resting on the chilly phone,
she was staring at the sand
as it began to lighten
Even gulls melted into the hush,
the tide heavy at dawn
Awake
the whole night through,
was there a border for them
between today and yesterday?
The two were a cave that admitted heaven,
a map that filled the cave, a mandala of love
And yet somehow
the woman
was a forest of fragrance,
was the light of dawn,
running to the dawn’s own depths
I saw a single leaf
go mad with joy at the sound
of a waterfall high in the blue sky
Somehow the leaf
was taking a leisure of a field
Somehow
that single leaf's words
went on
forever
and they were mine
From: Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets
Publisher: 1995, Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Audio recording from Poetry International Festival Rotterdam, 1976
Publisher: 1995, Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Daybreak Leaf Alive
Somehow there wasa cool rain bathing
the fruit’s insides
that dawn
The leek and the tofu
turned into beads of fragrant scent,
vying in lightness with the light
And also the waves of the woman’s robe,
carelessly flung on the floor
Hand resting on the chilly phone,
she was staring at the sand
as it began to lighten
Even gulls melted into the hush,
the tide heavy at dawn
Awake
the whole night through,
was there a border for them
between today and yesterday?
The two were a cave that admitted heaven,
a map that filled the cave, a mandala of love
And yet somehow
the woman
was a forest of fragrance,
was the light of dawn,
running to the dawn’s own depths
I saw a single leaf
go mad with joy at the sound
of a waterfall high in the blue sky
Somehow the leaf
was taking a leisure of a field
Somehow
that single leaf's words
went on
forever
and they were mine
From: Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets
Publisher: 1995, Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Publisher: 1995, Katydid Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
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