◇ダダの森の詩歌帖◇　「マンホールの深爪のかみさま」 / The bitten-down nailed God of manhole

The bitten-down nailed God of manhole

A boy
who wanted to be a steam iron
was waiting for a bitten-down nailed God
coming out of the chink of manhole
rolling himself into a ball
with his knees pressed to his chest
in a plastic milky semicircle

beside
there was a woman with handle on her back
sprouted hair on the naked frail limbs like a paintbrush
and the face was mettled with vermillion like blood or paint
looked with a fixed gaze at the clink of manhole
lied on her right side
pressing a cheek against the watery ground

and I was fighting the compulsion
to put a blue little house-shaped milk carton
beside the woman
to see the interfusion of the blue and vermillion
for getting an inspiration to paint

" Could you flip over a bit?"
asked I
as wasn't thrilled with her body orientation
" slip-up it is"
retorted the woman coolly
" I have to press my right cheek against something
otherwise will soon break apart to pieces"

I waited to keep watch for it
but the bitten-down nailed God of manhole seemed pretty late as usual
so I decided to go home
as was a time to take Tarpho for a walk.