Supper 晩餐 (1914)

 

晩餐 暴風をくらつた土砂ぶりの中を ぬれ鼠になつて 買つた米が一升 二十四銭五厘だ くさやの干ものを五枚 澤庵を一本 生姜の赤漬 玉子は鳥屋から 海苔は鋼鐵をうちのべたやうな奴 薩摩あげ かつをの塩辛 湯をたぎらして 餓鬼道のやうに喰ふ我等の晩餐 ふきつのる嵐は 瓦にぶつけて 家鳴震動のけたたましく われらの食慾は頑健にすすみ ものを喰らひて己が血となす本能 　　の力に迫られ やがて飽満の恍惚に入れば われら静かに手を取つて 心にかぎりなき喜を叫び かつ祈る 日常の瑣事にいのちあれ 生活のくまぐまに緻密なる光彩あれ われらのすべてに溢れこぼるるものあれ われらつねにみちよ われらの晩餐は 嵐より烈しい力を帯び われらの食後の倦怠は 不思議な肉欲をめざましめて 豪雨の中に燃えあがる われらの五体を讃嘆せしめる まづしいわれらの晩餐はこれだ

Supper Out in a downpour Drenched I bought a bag of rice For 24 sen and 5 rin 5 dried fish A pickled radish Some red ginger Fresh eggs Seaweed, pounded flat like steel Fried fish balls Salted bonito- We make tea, and Devour our dinner like hungry ghosts The wind and rain raging harder still Beat against the roof tiles Rattling the house Our appetites are endless We eat and eat, prodded by instinct Soon full, ecstatic We hold hands Marveling at the boundless joy in our     hearts We pray- Let the trivialities of our days be full     of life Let every detail be illuminated Let us always be full Our supper is more powerful than the      storm Awakening in us an astonishing desire Marveling at our bodies We are on fire in the middle of this     storm And this is our supper-       the supper of the poor (1914)

 

Comments

[M.W.Nolden]

I like this one. It reminds me a bit of that William Carlos Williams poem; the famous one about the plums.
Ah yes, appetites…
Are all Japanese ghosts hungry?

[M.W.Nolden]

This is the one:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535

Of course after reading the Williams poem they seem very different, but there was something that connected them in my head.

[Peony]

Hi MW! I love this one too....I am so glad you liked it. Those ghosts are not japanese ghosts but rather Hungry Ghosts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_ghost

Whenever I think of hungry ghosts, it reminds me of when I went to India. It was my first time overseas and of course I had culture shock arriving in Delhi after a really, really long haul across the Atlantic and then again to Europe and Jordan. The shock though actually was worse when I returned to Los Angeles. Sometimes I still get that same shock too flying into LA: when is enough stuff enough... we still haven't bought a couch or a bed or a car.... no cell and my TV is smaller than my computer monitor, but I just feel like enough is enough. Though sometimes I get really hungry too (like Chieko and Kotaro)

I have to tell you this too. These are probably the only incidence of a man writing love poetry for his wife in all of Japanese literature-- right? Well, Chieko went mad and died very young. Some say (and I suspect as well) that he drove her to her madness....

[S. Peralta]

I love how your illustrations are artworks by Chieko, or somehow reflect their lives together! Is this collage of rice paper also of the same significance?

[peony]

Hi Sam,

Yes, this is actually my favorite of her papercuts... and I also love to see her art published along with his poems. It is really interesting to collaborate with you and Kotaro this way :)

My favorite all time Japanese poetry translator is unable to read Japanese!! Jane Hirshfield. She worked with a Japanese speaker and achieved something which, in my opinion, is closer to the original poetry than most translations done by those who can actually read the language--so carry on!!

By the way, have you ever seen any of Song Xin's papercut art. I love it!! She is a favorite artist of mine....

Big hug.

[John Emerson]

There's a different WCW poem that was described as a gourmet shopping list which more resembles this one. The end of the poems seems Rexrothian, though possibly mostly because Rexroth liked to translate that kind of personal poem. Without the 1913 date I would have suggested actual influence; Rexroth seems more honored there than here.

[peony]

Do you remember my idea for starting a historical newspaper delivery service so people could time travel via reading old newspapers (like the Singapore times when Conrad passed through) or here is Rexroth's Examiner Columns from 50 years ago for a bit of time traveling....

Hope you are doing okay and enjoying the weekend. xoxox

[Sterling Price]

These terrific love poems remind me of the poems between Yvan and Claire Goll. The fire. The one poured into the other. I urge everyone to read all three poems. Great post, Leanne.

[peony]

Sterling, thank you so much for the reference. I am buying a copy of their love poems today, as I had never heard of them and you are right, it seems like something I should read asap!

[S. Peralta]

Leanne, I am just as enthralled by the process as the final poem, the attempt to understand the images, the ideas, the thoughts going through Kotaro's mind. As you say, a wonderful way to collaborate.

I have to look up Jane Hirshfield, I am sure I will love her work! But I am glad you mentioned her, it helps validate what I am trying to do.

Thank you too, for telling me about Song Xin, I just visited her site gallery and am amazed! "Light Boxes" is a wonderful series. For paper cuts, one of my favourites is Peter Callesen - http://www.petercallesen.com/index/index2.html - Look at his large-scale works.

[Dtfpress]

I loved this poem translation, which filled me up with rain soaked life.