短歌と英語版 Tanka in Japanese and Their English Versions: Apr. 2024
追いかけっこしようと一羽が飛び立って応じる鳥と応じない鳥と
One bird flies off, saying
“Let’s play tag!” Some fly off with it;
Others choose to stay
木々の葉が風船のようにどんどんと膨らんでゆき最後に割れる
All the leaves of the trees
Swell like so many balloons and
Eventually burst
すれ違う猫と会釈を交わす人 しかもどの猫も先に会釈する
The person and cats greet
Each other in the street, always
The cats bowing first
手の甲に不意に現れ私に使命を告げて消えるカタツムリ
To tell me my mission,
A snail emerged on the back
Of my hand, and vanished
ボーリングのピンが倒れる音がした 夜空で十個、星が揺れていた
I heard the sound of
Tumbling pins, and found ten stars
Swaying in the night sky
にょろにょろとしたいのを我慢していたがやっとにょろにょろし放題、やった!
I’ve long held back the urge,
But at last, as much as I like,
I’m able to wriggle!
幹や枝が筋肉痛になっている 昨日はとても風が強かった
I have muscle pain
In the trunk and the boughs: it was
Too windy yesterday
胴体の後ろの方にも前足と顔のある猫 丸まって寝てる
At the front and the rear
Of its trunk, the cat has two heads;
Now asleep, curling up
のこぎりで根元を切るとざわざわと樹木が空へ昇っていった
Severed at the base,
The huge tree ascended,
Rustling, to the sky
ストローの先から次々ミニ土星が出てきて宙を漂っていく
From the tip of a straw,
I blow out mini-Saturns. which
Float like soap bubbles
都市ガスが漂ってきて草地だったところで固形化して都市になった
A mass of city gas
Came, drifting, and solidified
On grasslands as city
スピードを楽しむように鳥たちが強風のなか風下へ飛ぶ
As if they enjoy
Speeding, the birds fly to leeward
In a strong wind
アリクイが本を開いて次々と舌先で文字を捕らえては食べる
From an opened book,
The anteater laps up
Letter after letter
地下茎で殖えるだなんて聞いてない 一年で庭がひまわりだらけ
I wish I had known that
Sunflowers multiply
By subterranean stems
瓶の中にイチゴが一個入っている 心臓が鼓動するように動く
A strawberry contracts
And expands in a bottle,
As if palpitating
風にそよぐワイングラスに注がれてワインもグラスと一緒にそよぐ
Poured into the glass
Which sways in the wind, the wine
Is also swaying
老妖怪のらりくらりが分裂しかわいくなった ノラリン、クラリン
Noralicrali
Has split into Noralin and
Cralin, prettily*
*Noralicrali is an old bogy which eludes every question. It sometimes splits into Noralin and Cralin, which are both young and pretty. Recently, I hear, Noralicrali has been featured in “Yokai-Watch.”
私に枝を動かし合図する樹木に向かって大きく頷く
I nod to the tree,
Which signals a message to me,
Swaying its branches
銀河から銀河へ大きな客船が星々を乗せ行き交っている
In a ship which sails
From galaxy to galaxy,
Stars are conveyed
太陽は動いているので虹も実はかなりの速さで動きつつある
The sun is not static,
So rainbows are moving sideways
Quite rapidly
銀河からつかみ取っては星をまく 手がひりひりと痛くなるまで
Until my hand tingles,
I scatter stars, scooping them up
From a galaxy
嫌がられそれならと飛んで人間の頬に留まりに来るゴキブリたち
Having learned that they are
Disliked, cockroaches fly, chasing,
To settle on humans
鳥になって枝から離れて飛び回り気がすむと枝にもどり葉になる
Changing into birds,
The leaves of the tree fly around,
And return, satisfied
木々の葉に生まれ変わったらあんなにもいつも揺られて酔って吐きそうだ
Always swayed like that,
I would get sick and vomit, should
I be reborn as leaf
せかしたら地球がはやく回り始め生き物たちもせかせかしだした
As I rushed it, the earth
Has begun turning faster; we
Have to live faster, too
全力で抵抗しても易々と衣服が私の身体を動かす
Once I put them on,
The clothes move my body
Quite irresistibly
試合中球技のボールがぱっと消える 選手がぱっと消えることもある
Sometimes, the ball
Vanishes during a match. So
Does a player, too
表面がどろどろに溶けた家たちが幽霊のように近づいてくる
Houses, whose surfaces have
Melted and are trickling down,
Close on me, like ghosts
木馬に乗り夜空に手を振り「地球メリー・ゴーラウンド!」と叫んでいる人
Astride a rocking horse,
Waving to the night sky, the man
Shouts, “Earth-Merry-Go-Round!”
捕食者が接近すると星々は銀河全体でまとまって逃げる
When a predator
Draws near, the stars flee together
In a whole galaxy
森林のオーケストラが不意にしんと静まり鳥がソロを始める
When the orchestra of
A forest hushes up, the bird
Begins to sing solo
その島は鯨の形で本物の鯨のようにたまに汐を噴く
The island is
Like a whale in shape, and sometimes
Spouts like a real whale, too
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