The Collected Poems of Sagawa Chika

Excerpts

Sagawa Chika

Afternoon

Raining like flower petals.
Hit by a heavy weight, insects descend the tree shade.
Gathering at the mast wall, trailing a faint breeze –
Sounds are killed by the sun, the waves.
My skeleton places white flowers upon it.
Interrupted by thoughts, fish climb the cliff.





Dark Song

Upon the new carpet all abloom
Quietly  slowly
Two donkeys pull a cart.
On the street where the proud flower petals burn
Silk feathers are dyed by pollen.
And where her toes touch
A white rainbow is portrayed.





Ocean Angel

The cradle rings loudly.
A spray shoots up,
As if stripping off feathers.
I wait for the return of those who sleep.
Music marks the bright hour.
I try to protest, raising my voice –
The waves come erase it from behind.

I was abandoned in the ocean.

translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu