written by Wakako Kaku, © Image: Akiko Honda and for more biographical info please visit: http://japan.poetryinternationalweb.org/


Body



You've got a voice to sing songs
not to make speeches, right?
You've got ears to hear songs
not to listen to everything so you miss nothing
Your fingers are for caressing your beloved earlobes
not for pointing accusingly, right?

You've got limbs just to dance, don't you?
Your hands are not for clinging to something
nor for clutching a knife
Your knees are not there for you to hug in a crouch
Your heels are not for stomping

Your skin is there to feel the breeze on your finger as it points to the sky
Your shoulders are there to catch flower petals
Your lips are for kissing
Your cheeks are there to be kissed, isn't that right?

When each and every one of them
is used just as it is supposed to be
your body comes alive, doesn't it?

You've got eyes to see the morning glow, don't you,
however long this night might linger?

© 2002, Wakako Kaku
From: Zero ni naru karada
Publisher: Tokuma Shoten, Tokyo, 2002
ISBN: 4-19-861511-X


© Translation: 2009, Takako Lento

 

 





Poetry by Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 810 times
Written on 2010-02-17 at 23:51

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Vince Blake
Language is a funny thing. I see that this was written in Japanese originally, and if that is the case, it might be unfair to say that the line "Your lips are for kissing," sounded a bit cliche. However, it's certainly possible that something gets lost in the translation from one language to the next, and I suppose that criticism should be taken with a grain of salt. This aside, "Your skin is there to feel the breeze on your finger as it points to the sky" was especially brilliant, and all in all, I loved the poem. :)
2010-02-18