Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Yukio Tsuji

A HORSEFLY

Even with eyes closed
I know you’ve come
because I hear you whisper in my ear.
(What are you doing?)
I’m just listening to the rain.
I’m listening to the sound of many drops of water
falling slightly slanting on the leaves and paving stones.
The encounter of things on high
and things here below makes a noise
like the noise deeply within us.
(Such as wind and water, right? —
ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh ... .)
Maybe, but
it’s mysterious.
Hearing your voice
I feel here beside me again
the innocent one who left me
when she was yet a girl.
I can’t believe
you are a fairy
like a drop of rain or a horsefly.
(Open your eyes and look!)
No, I won’t open my eyes
until the rain stops.

A HORSEFLY

Close

A HORSEFLY

Even with eyes closed
I know you’ve come
because I hear you whisper in my ear.
(What are you doing?)
I’m just listening to the rain.
I’m listening to the sound of many drops of water
falling slightly slanting on the leaves and paving stones.
The encounter of things on high
and things here below makes a noise
like the noise deeply within us.
(Such as wind and water, right? —
ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh ... .)
Maybe, but
it’s mysterious.
Hearing your voice
I feel here beside me again
the innocent one who left me
when she was yet a girl.
I can’t believe
you are a fairy
like a drop of rain or a horsefly.
(Open your eyes and look!)
No, I won’t open my eyes
until the rain stops.

A HORSEFLY

Even with eyes closed
I know you’ve come
because I hear you whisper in my ear.
(What are you doing?)
I’m just listening to the rain.
I’m listening to the sound of many drops of water
falling slightly slanting on the leaves and paving stones.
The encounter of things on high
and things here below makes a noise
like the noise deeply within us.
(Such as wind and water, right? —
ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh — ssshhhhhh ... .)
Maybe, but
it’s mysterious.
Hearing your voice
I feel here beside me again
the innocent one who left me
when she was yet a girl.
I can’t believe
you are a fairy
like a drop of rain or a horsefly.
(Open your eyes and look!)
No, I won’t open my eyes
until the rain stops.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère