There is a wind
breaking with eloquence, rain,
a thousand origami cranes for longevity;
and two women, hibakusha, in a garden
of castle rock, stepping stones,
a pond of blue feathers, hiding their faces
behind the fluttering motifs of bamboo
and pine, their skin peeled like a soft plum
exposing the red pit of a muscle. There is a sense
that here in this city, there is a language
we cannot speak. It's the translation we fear most,
like a stone that first glowed,
thrown into the river, widening the rings
of passage, but still visible, still spreading.
The faces we did not see where the mouth
of the river choked on burnt flesh;
where the willow, clutching the dark,
stood weeping over the corpses of children.
I like the imaginary narration of events...eloquently written!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
a thousand origami cranes for longevity; - - - -once again one of those remarkable and memorable lines this writer sprinkles through her poems like sparkling diamonds