2008.04.04
青のこ
原田克子
白鳥村に舞い降りた青い生命体が
白鳥川と羽衣川の交わりの中州に住み着いた
青とも緑ともつかない背中には凹凸があり
ぬめぬめと粘液状の分泌物がある
そこに枯れ葉や虫の死骸などが付着し
異臭を発する
動きははなはだ緩慢なのに
頭や足や尾などを確認できない
体長は数メートルを超えるようだが
茂みに遮られてしまう
雛子は
くる日もくる日も
物陰にはいつくばり
目を見開いていたのだけれど
全貌はわからなかった
ある日
中州の水溜まりに群れていたお玉杓子が一匹残らず
蛙になった
すると
そちらでもこちらでも
兎が消えた、鶏が消えた、どじょうが消えた
と
騒ぎだした
夏には蛍も光らなかった
爺が叫んでいる
「雛、雛、どごさ行った」
恐る恐る中州の茂みに分け入った男や女やこどもが
こん棒を振り下ろす
ドスッ、ドスッ
鈍い音が村の隅々にまで鳴り響く
輪のように繋がっていた生物は
声を発することもなく、逃げようとするわけでもなく
のたうちながら一本の大きな丸太のようになり
割れ口から
上気して微笑む雛子がぽろりと生まれ出てきた
詩集『シュールダンスをあなたと』より
Aonoko, a green creature
Written by Katsuko Harada
Translated by Townsman
March 24, 2008
Aonoko, a green creature, flew down to Shirotori Village
settled down on a sandbar where the Shirotori and Koromo Rivers meet
Its back, green rather than blue, full of bumps,
is producing sticky mucous secretions,
to which dead leaves and dead bodies of insects are attached
giving out a foul smell
In spite of its slow movement
you can never tell its head, legs or tail
Its body appears to be more than several meters long
Still, part of the body will soon be shielded by the bushes
Day in and day out
Chickie kept on watching the creature carefully
hiding herself behind the bush
But it never appeared in full view
One day
tadpoles that crowded around water pools on the sandbar
all grew into frogs
Then
here and there
rabbits are gone, chickens are gone, loaches all gone!
cried villagers in a panic
That summer nobody saw fireflies glow, either
Grandfather is crying aloud
"Chick, my dear chick, Where are you?"
Timidly, men and women and children pushed their way into the bushes
to approach and bludgeon the creature
Thud, thud!
The dull sound rang out throughout the village
The creature with its chain-like body
neither gave a groan nor tried to move away
but writhed and changed its body to something like a big log
From an opening in that body
popped up Chickie with her flushed face, smiling
From "Surreal dance with you," a collection of Katsuko Harada's poems
Written by Katsuko Harada
Translated by Townsman
March 24, 2008
Aonoko, a green creature, flew down to Shirotori Village
settled down on a sandbar where the Shirotori and Koromo Rivers meet
Its back, green rather than blue, full of bumps,
is producing sticky mucous secretions,
to which dead leaves and dead bodies of insects are attached
giving out a foul smell
In spite of its slow movement
you can never tell its head, legs or tail
Its body appears to be more than several meters long
Still, part of the body will soon be shielded by the bushes
Day in and day out
Chickie kept on watching the creature carefully
hiding herself behind the bush
But it never appeared in full view
One day
tadpoles that crowded around water pools on the sandbar
all grew into frogs
Then
here and there
rabbits are gone, chickens are gone, loaches all gone!
cried villagers in a panic
That summer nobody saw fireflies glow, either
Grandfather is crying aloud
"Chick, my dear chick, Where are you?"
Timidly, men and women and children pushed their way into the bushes
to approach and bludgeon the creature
Thud, thud!
The dull sound rang out throughout the village
The creature with its chain-like body
neither gave a groan nor tried to move away
but writhed and changed its body to something like a big log
From an opening in that body
popped up Chickie with her flushed face, smiling
From "Surreal dance with you," a collection of Katsuko Harada's poems
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