My 20 tanka translated into Japanese by Rika Inami
My 20 tanka translated into Japanese by poet translator Rika Inami. These appear in Hidenori Hiruta edited akitahaiku.com :
https://akitahaiku.com/2018/09/29/tanka-by-ram-krishna-singh-in-india/
Tanka by Ram Krishna Singh in India
ABOUT THE POET
Ram Krishna Singh, born, brought up and educated in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India), has been writing poetry in English for about four decades. He has authored over 160 academic articles, 170 book reviews, and 42 books. His recent collections of poems include I Am No Jesus And Other Selected Poems, Tanka and Haiku (English/Crimean Tatar, Romania, 2014), You Can’t Scent Me and Other Selected Poems(New Delhi, 2016), God Too Awaits Light(California, 2017) and Growing Within (English/Romanian, Romania, 2017).
Widely published and anthologized, and appreciated for his tanka and haiku, R.K.Singh’s poems have been translated into several languages, including Japanese, Greek, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Albanian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Farsi, Arabic, Serbian, Esperanto, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, and Bangla.
His awards and honours include Ritsumeikan University Peace Museum Award, Kyoto, 1999, Certificate of Honour and Nyuusen Prize, Kumamoto, 2000 and 2008, Life time Achievement Award of the International Poets Academy, Chennai, 2009, Prize of Corea Literature, South Korea, 2013, Naji Naaman’s Literary Prize, Lebanon, 2015, and nomination for Pushcart Prize, 2013, 2014.
Known as an Indian English poet, haikuist and ELT/EST practitioner, Dr Singh recently retired as Professor at Indian Institute of Technology–Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (India). More at: https://rksingh.blogspot.in ; https://profrksingh.wordpress.com . email: profrksingh@gmail.com
TANKA: R.K. SINGH, India
Translation: Rika Inami 稲美 里佳
1
Stars on the earth
these glow worms I want to clasp
into hands and
offer to God as flowers
of my first obeisance
地上の星々のほたるを手に 我が初めての敬意の花とし神に捧げむ
2
the wine of love swells
in my vessel dark shadows
recede human dirt
between sound and silence greets
the joy and bliss of spirit
我が器の暗き影のなか 愛の葡萄酒が膨らみ 音と静けさが魂の喜びと祝福を迎えるあわいに 人の穢れよ退け
3
love’s spirit descends
and melds into her body
lending it new life:
I’m amazed how the unknown
becomes one with her beauty
愛の霊は降りきて汝の体とまじりあい そを新しき命に与えむ: かくて 我 未知なるがもの如何にして汝の美と一つにならんとすかに驚かむ
4
a serpent twists
its head to face a dragon
on her shoulder:
their tails on breasts in water
swirl to cleanse my kiss on skin
蛇のとぐろよ 汝の肩にあらばその頭を龍に見せ 水中にあらば胸の上に尾を見せ 肌にあらば我が口づけを浄化せんと渦巻く
5
tears dry up
leaving no marks where her pain
ends and mine begins
on the face makeup damp
with aching sweat and cold sighs
涙は乾き 汝の痛みがやみ 汗と冷えた吐息で顔をじっとり濡らし 我が痛みが始ま
るところに 何らの跡を残さず
6
I thought I would make
tea for her but she was sleeping
I didn’t wake up
our back faced each other
once again cold birthday
われは汝（な）のために茶を入れんと思いしが 汝（な）は眠り われ覚めず われらは背合わせとなり 再びの冷めた誕生日
7
smallness of the small
no sharing half-chewed betel–
mischievous whisper
in bed fuzzy sensation
of rudy lips that’s no love
とるに足らないつまらないこと 檳榔を半分噛み分かち合うこともなし ― 愛の無いみだらな唇でベッドが乱れる感覚のなかでの いたずらな囁き
8
the tenuity
of her story like hearing
my own confession
without the priest I wonder
if I knew my true voice
我が真の声か否かを問う司祭もなく 我が告白を聞くかのごとく 汝の語りの薄きかな
9
no one knows
when the sun will be clouded
or when it will rain
in Ramdhura
women and weather one
誰一人とし いつ太陽が曇り いつ雨が降るかは知らず ランドーラの女と天気にては
10
a tidal wave
touches the shore to wipe
my naked footprints
and leaves behind some shells
pebbles and memories
潮の波は 岸に触れ我が素足の足跡をぬぐい 貝殻と小石と記憶を残し退きゆく
１１
near the railway track
she squats with hands on her knees
and hides her parts
in half-dark the naked truth
transforms nature into nude
線路近く 彼女は膝の上に手を置いて うずくまり 裸の真実の半分を隠し 自然をむき出しの裸体に変える
12
half-painting:
palette and easel
collect dust
in the studio
pained silence of mother
半塗りの パレットとイーゼル ほこりは溜まっている スタジオの中で 母の静けさを描いた
13
dreams puzzling
smallness of waking
I can’t live
the child’s circumcision
promise of happiness
夢は目覚めの卑小さに戸惑い 子の割礼を 幸福の約束を 我為せず
14
turns off the mood
for prayer in the park
smelly underarm
of a fellow walker
running to reduce weight
公園の祈りのムードの消滅 … 脇の臭いウォーカー仲間が 減量のために走っている
15
choking air
in a walled colony:
two tired pigeons
perch on overhead tank
whisper pity on us
壁で囲まれたコロニーのなかの息詰まるような雰囲気 高架タンクに止まった2羽の疲れた鳩が 我々を憐み囁きかける
16
island of rubbish
home to cows, mosquitoes
and homeless mothers
speak wordlessly passersby
unzip to ease and move
ゴミの島 牛と蚊の家 ホームレスの母親たちは無言で行きずりの人に声をかけ 楽に動けるようににチャックを外す
17
the snail of traffic
near red light bikes zig-zag
on broken footpaths
at Bannerghatta Road
pedestrians seek safe refuge
蝸牛（かたつむり）のようなのろのろ交通 … バナーガッタ道路の壊れた歩道橋で 赤信号の頃 バイクはジグザグに動き 歩行者は安全な避難場所を捜す
18
health horoscope
planetary conspiracy:
rectal bleeding
not healing for months recur
backache with dying libido
健康占星術 惑星の陰謀はかくに： 直腸出血は 幾月も治癒ぜず再発し 死にかけた欲望をともなう腰痛に苦しむ
19
unemptied
the cup of remorse–
begging bowl
before the dumb deity
years of noisy silence
自責の念のカップは 空にならず…愚かなる神の前の鉢に 赦しを請いつつ 静寂ざわつき幾歳月
20
when change comes
things change they say–
sight beyond sight
in the wealthy vacuum
all is well with limping days
変化きたれば 事変わるとう ….大いなる空白のなか 視界を越ゆる眺めは みな 傷つきし片足引きずり日々歩み行くので良し
–Ram Krishna Singh, Dhanbad, India
Translated into Japanese by Rika Inami
和訳 稲美里佳
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Hidenori san for your generous support to my creativity and introducing my work to the Japanese audience.
https://www.facebook.com/shhiruta/posts/2368368586513246
秋田県に住んでいます。早稲田大学第一文学部卒業。短歌創作をし、Amazon-Kindle より日英２か国語で シリーズを出版しています。皆さま、宜しくお願い申し上げます。
Rika Inami studied at 第一文学部 at Waseda University
https://www.facebook.com/rika.inami.35
https://akitahaiku.com/2018/09/29/tanka-by-ram-krishna-singh-in-india/
Tanka by Ram Krishna Singh in India
ABOUT THE POET
Ram Krishna Singh, born, brought up and educated in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India), has been writing poetry in English for about four decades. He has authored over 160 academic articles, 170 book reviews, and 42 books. His recent collections of poems include I Am No Jesus And Other Selected Poems, Tanka and Haiku (English/Crimean Tatar, Romania, 2014), You Can’t Scent Me and Other Selected Poems(New Delhi, 2016), God Too Awaits Light(California, 2017) and Growing Within (English/Romanian, Romania, 2017).
Widely published and anthologized, and appreciated for his tanka and haiku, R.K.Singh’s poems have been translated into several languages, including Japanese, Greek, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Albanian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Farsi, Arabic, Serbian, Esperanto, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, and Bangla.
His awards and honours include Ritsumeikan University Peace Museum Award, Kyoto, 1999, Certificate of Honour and Nyuusen Prize, Kumamoto, 2000 and 2008, Life time Achievement Award of the International Poets Academy, Chennai, 2009, Prize of Corea Literature, South Korea, 2013, Naji Naaman’s Literary Prize, Lebanon, 2015, and nomination for Pushcart Prize, 2013, 2014.
Known as an Indian English poet, haikuist and ELT/EST practitioner, Dr Singh recently retired as Professor at Indian Institute of Technology–Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (India). More at: https://rksingh.blogspot.in ; https://profrksingh.wordpress.com . email: profrksingh@gmail.com
TANKA: R.K. SINGH, India
Translation: Rika Inami 稲美 里佳
1
Stars on the earth
these glow worms I want to clasp
into hands and
offer to God as flowers
of my first obeisance
地上の星々のほたるを手に 我が初めての敬意の花とし神に捧げむ
2
the wine of love swells
in my vessel dark shadows
recede human dirt
between sound and silence greets
the joy and bliss of spirit
我が器の暗き影のなか 愛の葡萄酒が膨らみ 音と静けさが魂の喜びと祝福を迎えるあわいに 人の穢れよ退け
3
love’s spirit descends
and melds into her body
lending it new life:
I’m amazed how the unknown
becomes one with her beauty
愛の霊は降りきて汝の体とまじりあい そを新しき命に与えむ: かくて 我 未知なるがもの如何にして汝の美と一つにならんとすかに驚かむ
4
a serpent twists
its head to face a dragon
on her shoulder:
their tails on breasts in water
swirl to cleanse my kiss on skin
蛇のとぐろよ 汝の肩にあらばその頭を龍に見せ 水中にあらば胸の上に尾を見せ 肌にあらば我が口づけを浄化せんと渦巻く
5
tears dry up
leaving no marks where her pain
ends and mine begins
on the face makeup damp
with aching sweat and cold sighs
涙は乾き 汝の痛みがやみ 汗と冷えた吐息で顔をじっとり濡らし 我が痛みが始ま
るところに 何らの跡を残さず
6
I thought I would make
tea for her but she was sleeping
I didn’t wake up
our back faced each other
once again cold birthday
われは汝（な）のために茶を入れんと思いしが 汝（な）は眠り われ覚めず われらは背合わせとなり 再びの冷めた誕生日
7
smallness of the small
no sharing half-chewed betel–
mischievous whisper
in bed fuzzy sensation
of rudy lips that’s no love
とるに足らないつまらないこと 檳榔を半分噛み分かち合うこともなし ― 愛の無いみだらな唇でベッドが乱れる感覚のなかでの いたずらな囁き
8
the tenuity
of her story like hearing
my own confession
without the priest I wonder
if I knew my true voice
我が真の声か否かを問う司祭もなく 我が告白を聞くかのごとく 汝の語りの薄きかな
9
no one knows
when the sun will be clouded
or when it will rain
in Ramdhura
women and weather one
誰一人とし いつ太陽が曇り いつ雨が降るかは知らず ランドーラの女と天気にては
10
a tidal wave
touches the shore to wipe
my naked footprints
and leaves behind some shells
pebbles and memories
潮の波は 岸に触れ我が素足の足跡をぬぐい 貝殻と小石と記憶を残し退きゆく
１１
near the railway track
she squats with hands on her knees
and hides her parts
in half-dark the naked truth
transforms nature into nude
線路近く 彼女は膝の上に手を置いて うずくまり 裸の真実の半分を隠し 自然をむき出しの裸体に変える
12
half-painting:
palette and easel
collect dust
in the studio
pained silence of mother
半塗りの パレットとイーゼル ほこりは溜まっている スタジオの中で 母の静けさを描いた
13
dreams puzzling
smallness of waking
I can’t live
the child’s circumcision
promise of happiness
夢は目覚めの卑小さに戸惑い 子の割礼を 幸福の約束を 我為せず
14
turns off the mood
for prayer in the park
smelly underarm
of a fellow walker
running to reduce weight
公園の祈りのムードの消滅 … 脇の臭いウォーカー仲間が 減量のために走っている
15
choking air
in a walled colony:
two tired pigeons
perch on overhead tank
whisper pity on us
壁で囲まれたコロニーのなかの息詰まるような雰囲気 高架タンクに止まった2羽の疲れた鳩が 我々を憐み囁きかける
16
island of rubbish
home to cows, mosquitoes
and homeless mothers
speak wordlessly passersby
unzip to ease and move
ゴミの島 牛と蚊の家 ホームレスの母親たちは無言で行きずりの人に声をかけ 楽に動けるようににチャックを外す
17
the snail of traffic
near red light bikes zig-zag
on broken footpaths
at Bannerghatta Road
pedestrians seek safe refuge
蝸牛（かたつむり）のようなのろのろ交通 … バナーガッタ道路の壊れた歩道橋で 赤信号の頃 バイクはジグザグに動き 歩行者は安全な避難場所を捜す
18
health horoscope
planetary conspiracy:
rectal bleeding
not healing for months recur
backache with dying libido
健康占星術 惑星の陰謀はかくに： 直腸出血は 幾月も治癒ぜず再発し 死にかけた欲望をともなう腰痛に苦しむ
19
unemptied
the cup of remorse–
begging bowl
before the dumb deity
years of noisy silence
自責の念のカップは 空にならず…愚かなる神の前の鉢に 赦しを請いつつ 静寂ざわつき幾歳月
20
when change comes
things change they say–
sight beyond sight
in the wealthy vacuum
all is well with limping days
変化きたれば 事変わるとう ….大いなる空白のなか 視界を越ゆる眺めは みな 傷つきし片足引きずり日々歩み行くので良し
–Ram Krishna Singh, Dhanbad, India
Translated into Japanese by Rika Inami
和訳 稲美里佳
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Hidenori san for your generous support to my creativity and introducing my work to the Japanese audience.
https://www.facebook.com/shhiruta/posts/2368368586513246
秋田県に住んでいます。早稲田大学第一文学部卒業。短歌創作をし、Amazon-Kindle より日英２か国語で
Rika Inami studied at 第一文学部 at Waseda University
https://www.facebook.com/rika.inami.35
posted by Ram Krishna Singh at 10:17 PM
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