Toyoko Beth Oku Hara's Poetry Corner





Wallaby (Wanna be)


Born in a seaside country a few years after the War.
Chinese milk vetches tickling its jumping feet,
dandelion necklaces decorating its frail neck,
Cicade droning in the grassy woods.
Fallen nuts on yellow leaves,and
warm bonfires...were all delightful gifts.
"I'll be a wallaby for ever." It spent ages in plentiful nature.

Seeing and hearing English for the first time
in junior high,it got confused.
Why aren't they"I a girl am. This a pen is."?
The language sounded foreign,quite new to its ears.
Overseas countries looked far away,never to reach or return.
"What's the use of Engllish?" It inquired in class.

Going on to senior high,the language began sounding
fascinating. The expressions looked interesting,and
widened its view of the world.
"Wanna be a kangaroo,wanna move to somewhere." It dreamt in bed.

In the ancient city of quiet atomsphere,
Shakespeare's couplets sounded away in a doze.
Shelley,Yeats,Tennyson...,gone away in the wind.
Linguistics given up through its laziness.
Its four years' prime flew quickly,waiting for no one.
"Am I a kangaroo or wallaby?" It wondered on Graduate Day.


Moved to the overpopulated area,
it has returned to Shakespeare on th screen.
Singing popular songs in English,
counting syllables in composing haiku.
"I'm still a wallaby,but wanna be cultivated."
Surely some day. Wishing,challenging among wallabies.




Titanic


"Iceberg ahead!"
The tragedy began with these words.
Midway across the Atlantic,
at midnight of April,86 years ago,
in the middle of dreams of 2223 people.

Nobody dreamt the great ship would ever sink
as Great Britain would never sink.

They sang sprited songs on board.
They danced to sweet music.
They ate warm meals. They loved,smiled each other.
They looked forwrd to New York,hopeful new land.
They won the tickets for the gorgeous maiden voyage
with their individual dreams to fulfill.
The Titanic was a ship of dreams.

Sadly...,there was not enough time
to leave the sinking vessel.One hour,at most,two hours.
Nor enough room in the lifeboats.
All their longlasting dreams sunk
into the absolute darkness before dawn.

Heart-breaking,breath-choking scenes
were showing in the sea of tears.
One dream out of three narrowly survived.

One lifeboat alone came back to rescue the people
floating in the freezing water,waiting for nothing,
nothing,but death.
"Only one boat out of twenty.No one knows why,
but God knows." In the movie theater
her voice echoed.

Release on July 1,1998

Toyoko Beth Oku Hara's Poetry
Forget-Me-Not
spring-summer,1998

FREE!
phone & fax (+81)3-3318-0258

ますます充実の「Forget-Me-Not」。ご希望の方に、送料込みの無料でお届けします。中学生、高校生をお持ちのご家庭は、英語教材としても、ご一考を。
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Noh by Bonfire


The slippery stage reflects in green
of May leaves,and in the red of the flames,
the two women,mistress and wife,sliding to the center.
Concealing and revealing their desperate love,
frantic jealousy,burning sorrow,under their masks,
in their composed motion.



Three bonfires redden the dusk,stoked
by the three men in black.
The man on the left staring at the heart of the fire
to confirm his existence at present.
The man in the middle looking down fixedly
at the ground,recalling his past.
The man on the right looking around the air
restlessly,searching for his future.



The male voices flow through the shadows behind,
the bonfire flaming red,flaring up
in the descending evening moisture.



Subconsciousness


Men's jeolousy is dark red under ashes,
smoking white silently,yet surely,
once in a while.

Women's jeolousy is a flaming fire,
spreading sparks around,
burning up other women and even herself
furiously to ashes.

In her dream many years ago,a woman visited her home.
After serving tea,leaving the guest and husband alone,
she stole out of home,burning jeolousy
full of ill intention.

Waking after the dream in a disagreeable mood
to find herself sweatly,and
to know she's nothing but a woman.



By Cherry-chan at the age of eight


Wolf,wolf,why are you looking at the moon?

   The moon,the moon is so beautiful,
   so I look at the moon.

Wolf,wolf,why don't you cry at the moon?

   I am afraid,little friend, I am afraid that
   someone will find me and kill me.

Wolf,wolf,let us be friends,so when someone finds you
I will stop them.

   Thank you,my friend,thank you very much.

We will be friends forever!



Cherry


After innocent blossoms
cherry trees fruit swinging jewels,
which taste sour,sweet
like first love.



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