Voices of Summer — Web Exclusive
By Sagawa Chika
Translated by Sawako Nakayasu
It looks far far
Wrapped in a thick wool manteau
purple like the fog
Saburo! Saburo! yells
his mother, awaiting a reply
Above the deep slumber of summer
a lizard faces the the wind
It looks near near
Heavy-looking knees have begun to move
In an outlying village, adults fret over the weather
fuss about
Crouching, fallen silent,
making us gossip all day long
When I split it, the water runs like pollen
Chika Sagawa (1911–1935), whose real name was Aiko Kawasaki, was one of the first female modernist poets in Japan and was an esteemed member of the literary community surrounding Katue Kitasono. After her death, her poems were collected and edited by Ito Sei and published as the Collected Poems.
Sawako Nakayasu was born in Japan and has lived mostly in the U.S. since the age of six. Her most recent books are Texture Notes (Letter Machine, 2010), Hurry Home Honey (Burning Deck, 2009), and a translation of Kawata Ayane’s poetry, Time of Sky/Castles in the Air (Litmus Press, 2010). Her translation of Takashi Hiraide’s For the Fighting Spirit of the Walnut (New Directions, 2008) received the 2009 Best Translated Book Award from Three Percent.