Tanka by Ram Krishna Singh in India

Tanka by Ram Krishna Singh in India

 

ABOUT THE POET

 

 

Ram Krishna Singh, born, brought up and educated in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India), has been writing poetry in English for about four decades. He has authored over 160 academic articles, 170 book reviews, and 42 books. His recent collections of poems include I Am No Jesus And Other Selected Poems, Tanka and Haiku (English/Crimean Tatar, Romania, 2014), You Can’t Scent Me and Other Selected Poems(New Delhi, 2016), God Too Awaits Light(California, 2017) and Growing Within (English/Romanian, Romania, 2017). 

Widely published and anthologized, and appreciated for his tanka and haiku, R.K.Singh’s poems have been translated into several languages, including Japanese, Greek, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Albanian,  Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Farsi, Arabic, Serbian, Esperanto, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, and Bangla.

His awards and honours include Ritsumeikan University Peace Museum Award, Kyoto, 1999, Certificate of Honour and Nyuusen Prize, Kumamoto, 2000 and 2008, Life time Achievement Award of the International Poets Academy, Chennai, 2009, Prize of Corea Literature, South Korea, 2013, Naji Naaman’s Literary Prize, Lebanon, 2015, and nomination for Pushcart Prize, 2013, 2014.

Known as an Indian English poet, haikuist and ELT/EST practitioner, Dr Singh recently retired as Professor at Indian Institute of Technology–Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (India). More at: https://rksingh.blogspot.in  ; https://profrksingh.wordpress.com . email: profrksingh@gmail.com 

 

 

TANKA:  R.K. SINGH,  India
Translation:  Rika Inami 稲美 里佳
 

1

Stars on the earth

these glow worms I want to clasp

into hands and

offer to God as flowers

of my first obeisance

 

 地上の星々のほたるを手に　我が初めての敬意の花とし神に捧げむ

 

2

the wine of love swells

in my vessel dark shadows

recede human dirt

between sound and silence greets

the joy and bliss of spirit

 

我が器の暗き影のなか　愛の葡萄酒が膨らみ　音と静けさが魂の喜びと祝福を迎えるあわいに　人の穢れよ退け

 

3

love’s spirit descends

and melds into her body

lending it new life:

I’m amazed how the unknown

becomes one with her beauty

 

愛の霊は降りきて汝の体とまじりあい　そを新しき命に与えむ:　かくて　我　未知なるがもの如何にして汝の美と一つにならんとすかに驚かむ

 

4

a serpent twists

its head to face a dragon

on her shoulder:

their tails on breasts in water

swirl to cleanse my kiss on skin

 

 蛇のとぐろよ　汝の肩にあらばその頭を龍に見せ　水中にあらば胸の上に尾を見せ　肌にあらば我が口づけを浄化せんと渦巻く

 
5

tears dry up

leaving no marks where her pain

ends and mine begins

on the face makeup damp

with aching sweat and cold sighs

 

 涙は乾き　汝の痛みがやみ　汗と冷えた吐息で顔をじっとり濡らし　我が痛みが始ま

るところに　何らの跡を残さず

 

6

I thought I would make

tea for her but she was sleeping

I didn’t wake up

our back faced each other

once again cold birthday

 

 われは汝（な）のために茶を入れんと思いしが　汝（な）は眠り　われ覚めず　われらは背合わせとなり　再びの冷めた誕生日

 

7

smallness of the small

no sharing half-chewed betel–

mischievous whisper

in bed fuzzy sensation

of rudy lips that’s no love

 

とるに足らないつまらないこと　檳榔を半分噛み分かち合うこともなし　―　愛の無いみだらな唇でベッドが乱れる感覚のなかでの　いたずらな囁き　

 

8

the tenuity

of her story like hearing

my own confession

without the priest I wonder

if I knew my true voice

 

我が真の声か否かを問う司祭もなく　我が告白を聞くかのごとく　汝の語りの薄きかな　

 

9

no one knows

when the sun will be clouded

or when it will rain

in Ramdhura

women and weather one

 

誰一人とし　いつ太陽が曇り　いつ雨が降るかは知らず ランドーラの女と天気にては

 

10

a tidal wave

touches the shore to wipe

my naked footprints

and leaves behind some shells

pebbles and memories

 

潮の波は　岸に触れ我が素足の足跡をぬぐい　貝殻と小石と記憶を残し退きゆく

 

１１

near the railway track

she squats with hands on her knees

and hides her parts

in half-dark the naked truth

transforms nature into nude

 

 線路近く　彼女は膝の上に手を置いて　うずくまり　裸の真実の半分を隠し　自然をむき出しの裸体に変える

 

12

half-painting:

palette and easel

collect dust

in the studio

pained silence of mother

 

半塗りの　パレットとイーゼル　ほこりは溜まっている　スタジオの中で　母の静けさを描いた　

 

 13

dreams puzzling

smallness of waking

I can’t live

the child’s circumcision

promise of happiness

 

 夢は目覚めの卑小さに戸惑い　子の割礼を　幸福の約束を　我為せず

 

14

turns off the mood

for prayer in the park

smelly underarm

of a fellow walker

running to reduce weight

 

公園の祈りのムードの消滅　… 脇の臭いウォーカー仲間が　減量のために走っている

 

15

choking air

in a walled colony:

two tired pigeons

perch on overhead tank

whisper pity on us

 

壁で囲まれたコロニーのなかの息詰まるような雰囲気　高架タンクに止まった2羽の疲れた鳩が　我々を憐み囁きかける

 

16

island of rubbish

home to cows, mosquitoes

and homeless mothers

speak wordlessly passersby

unzip to ease and move

 

 ゴミの島　牛と蚊の家　ホームレスの母親たちは無言で行きずりの人に声をかけ　楽に動けるようににチャックを外す

 

17

the snail of traffic

near red light bikes zig-zag

on broken footpaths

at Bannerghatta Road

pedestrians seek safe refuge

 

 蝸牛（かたつむり）のようなのろのろ交通 …　バナーガッタ道路の壊れた歩道橋で　赤信号の頃　バイクはジグザグに動き　歩行者は安全な避難場所を捜す

 

18

health horoscope

planetary conspiracy:

rectal bleeding

not healing for months recur

backache with dying libido

 

健康占星術　惑星の陰謀はかくに：　直腸出血は　幾月も治癒ぜず再発し　死にかけた欲望をともなう腰痛に苦しむ

 

19

unemptied

the cup of remorse–

begging bowl

before the dumb deity

years of noisy silence

 

自責の念のカップは　 空にならず…愚かなる神の前の鉢に　赦しを請いつつ　静寂ざわつき幾歳月

 

20

when change comes

things change they say–

sight beyond sight

in the wealthy vacuum

all is well with limping days

 

変化きたれば　事変わるとう ….大いなる空白のなか 視界を越ゆる眺めは　みな　傷つきし片足引きずり日々歩み行くので良し

 

–Ram Krishna Singh,  Dhanbad, India

Translated into Japanese by Rika Inami

和訳　稲美里佳