From Kusabue              Satake Yu

『草笛』                          　　                  佐竹遊

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As you fall asleep

Curled up inside your blanket  

At the light of dawn

You look like an instrument

Whose song has fallen silent

 

 

At the breakfast table

The conversation flies

While inside my mouth

The bitter taste of celery

Continues to linger

 

 

As the chill sets in

In the star-studded sky

You and I become one

We go to bed together

Dancing like wild rabbits

 

 

Walking behind you

Gazing at the back of your head 

The fragrance of your skin
From last night comes back to me 

Awakening something deep inside 

 

 

The sandy coastline 

Seems to go on forever 

Like the silence between us

As we gaze at the ocean 

Stretching out endlessly

 

 

Just like the pattern

Found in the veins of a leaf

Scars are etched in my arms

When we lie down together

And I hold you from behind

 

 

You were sent to me

Just as I was sent to you

And I now wonder

Whether we are using each other

As some kind of sacred pawns

 

 

—Translation by Kimberly Hughes