AFTER FUKUSHIMA
Tanka Sequence
1
when
will my later years
start?—
a mother cat has babies
at the ruined village
2
dim light
of cherry blossoms—
unstoppable
petal storm in the ruins
beyond my five senses
3
sounds
of the stream
in my homeland—
Strontium is soaking
into the placenta
4
cherry avenue
my late mother’s favorite …
is there
another world?
petal drift
5
there were
days when I had
my dream …
are you there now?
Betelgeuse
Translated from the Japanese by the author and Kath Abela Wilson;
Oldflute Shakuhachi by Rick Wilson
—from Rattle #47, Spring 2015
Tribute to Japanese Forms
__________
Mariko Kitakubo: “While composing poems is the primary thing to do, I want to continue expressive activities by means of reading performances in and out of the country. I feel it meaningful to vibrate Japanese traditional rhythm sounds, consisting of units of five and seven syllables, in front of tanka lovers whose native language is not Japanese.” (website)
