While I Can Still See Poem by Ryuichi Tamura

The light of stars
The flowers in the fields
The horizon at sea rolled back
The horizon on land upside down
There is a face under the hat
if I open a door someone is there
a bird's feather
a small animal's footprints
carved in snow
the rapid descent of the evening sun in autumn
the hazy moon in spring

I once wrote
'Time does not expire
People expire'

I've seen any number of people expire
and I
will expire in the end

I can see
but what in the world did my eyes see

Only time