Japan Society of Fairfield County
Tanka(12)
by Dr. Ikuko Anjo Jassey
オリーブの小枝差し出す物乞いは老いて踊れぬあの日のカルメン
o ri i bu no ko e da sa shi da su mo no go i
wa o i te o do re nu a no hi no ka ru me n
A panhandler
offering passers-by
a twig of an olive tree
Old Carmen she is
no more is her dancing
潰えたる不倫の王妃の恋なりや隠れ咲きたるアランブラの月
tsu i e ta ru hu ri n no o o hi no ko i na ri
yo ka ku re sa ki ta ru a ra n bu ra no tsu ki
The moon over the Alhambra
blooming behind flakes of clouds
Like an illicit love
of that unfaithful Queen
櫂も櫓も波に休めて五十代しばし潮に流されてみよ
ka i mo ro mo na mi ni ya su me te go ju u da
i shi ba shi u shi o ni na ga sa re te mi yo
Float with the tide
for a while
a woman in her fifties
resting oars on the water
らずべりーの酸っぱい甘さそう言えばこんな味かも「無用の用」は
ra zu be ri i no su ppa i a ma sa so o i e
ba ko n na a ji ka mo mu yo o no yo o wa
Raspberries
sweetness
a touch of sourness
A taste of the necessity
of the unnecessary
洗い張りの糊の味など知らぬわとパンをついばむ平成すずめ
a ra i ha ri no no ri no a ji na do shi ra nu
wa to pa n o tsu i ba mu he i se i su zu me
Sparrows
the Heisei era
pecking a bread crumb
a laundered kimono
its starch never tasted
まだ熱き骨を拾いて密やかに母の婚姻解き放しやる
ma da a tsu ki ho ne o hi ro i te hi so ya ka
ni ha ha no ko n i n to ki ha na shi ya ru
Hot bones
picked up in silence
My mother emancipated
freed from marriage
冬の日の影を引きずり長坂を空ん転んときのうが通る
hu yu no hi no ka ge o hi ki zu ri na ga sa ka
o ka ra n ko ro n to ki no o ga to o ru
Dragging a long shadow
of a wintry day
on a long slope
“Yesterday” passes by
hollow sounds of wooden clogs
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