Poem
Sayaka Osaki
Eternity and a day
You lean on the first big tree you seeYou were just born but are already exhausted
A stranger is seated next to you
Perhaps he was once important to you
So you decide to dance with him
The sky is as clear as a Van Gogh
The birds are circling
The forest is rising up
The people are gathering
The people are being counted
The traffic is being swindled
The ambulance is stopped
The industries have grown dark
You will decide once
Whether you like these things
Then you’ll change your mind
Is it better to feel sad about what you don’t know?
You don’t know
(You think you’ll keep an eye on everything
But when you keep missing things
You simply sigh with relief)
The child who stole the yellow jacket
Dashes off into the woods
This single
Scene
Sort of enviable
Sort of celebratory
Sort of like a game in which you search for what’s not the same
You wait for the low song
Of the falling rain
To grow audible
Most likely, ever so lightly, you will surpass
The speed at which you feel no more despair
Even though a circle might not have one
You do have a beginning
© Translation: 2018, Sayaka Osaki
永遠と一日
永遠と一日
最初に見つけた大木にあなたは寄りかかる生まれたばかりなのに ひどく疲れた気がして
隣に見覚えのない人が腰かけているが
とても大切な人だったのかもしれない
あなたはその人と 踊ることにする
空はゴッホのように晴れていて
鳥は巡っていて
森は湧いていて
人々は集まっている
人々は数えられていて
交通は詐欺にあっていて
救急車が停まっていて
産業は黒ずんでいる
この営みのことを好きか
あなたは一度は決めてしまう
それからやっぱり違うと言い
わからないことを悲しんだほうがいいのか
わからない
（すべてを見てやろうと思いながら
見逃し続けることに安心して
あなたは ため息をつく）
黄色い上着を盗んだ子が森へ
走り去ってゆく
羨ましいような
お祝いしたいような
間違いさがしのような
ひとつの
景色
降る雨の
低く歌う声が
聞こえてくるのを待って
絶望することのできない速度を
たぶんあなたは 軽々と越える
円環に始まりがなくても
あなたには始まりがあるのだ
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
Publisher: Seidosha, Tokyo
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
Publisher: Seidosha, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Sayaka Osaki
Close
Eternity and a day
You lean on the first big tree you seeYou were just born but are already exhausted
A stranger is seated next to you
Perhaps he was once important to you
So you decide to dance with him
The sky is as clear as a Van Gogh
The birds are circling
The forest is rising up
The people are gathering
The people are being counted
The traffic is being swindled
The ambulance is stopped
The industries have grown dark
You will decide once
Whether you like these things
Then you’ll change your mind
Is it better to feel sad about what you don’t know?
You don’t know
(You think you’ll keep an eye on everything
But when you keep missing things
You simply sigh with relief)
The child who stole the yellow jacket
Dashes off into the woods
This single
Scene
Sort of enviable
Sort of celebratory
Sort of like a game in which you search for what’s not the same
You wait for the low song
Of the falling rain
To grow audible
Most likely, ever so lightly, you will surpass
The speed at which you feel no more despair
Even though a circle might not have one
You do have a beginning
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
From: 新しい住みか（New Habitat)
Eternity and a day
You lean on the first big tree you seeYou were just born but are already exhausted
A stranger is seated next to you
Perhaps he was once important to you
So you decide to dance with him
The sky is as clear as a Van Gogh
The birds are circling
The forest is rising up
The people are gathering
The people are being counted
The traffic is being swindled
The ambulance is stopped
The industries have grown dark
You will decide once
Whether you like these things
Then you’ll change your mind
Is it better to feel sad about what you don’t know?
You don’t know
(You think you’ll keep an eye on everything
But when you keep missing things
You simply sigh with relief)
The child who stole the yellow jacket
Dashes off into the woods
This single
Scene
Sort of enviable
Sort of celebratory
Sort of like a game in which you search for what’s not the same
You wait for the low song
Of the falling rain
To grow audible
Most likely, ever so lightly, you will surpass
The speed at which you feel no more despair
Even though a circle might not have one
You do have a beginning
© 2018, Sayaka Osaki
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