First published in the Australian Multilingual Writing Project Issue 4
『キリンの居る部屋』(Room with a Giraffe)
There is a giraffe in the room.
She blinks slowly.
I see her lashes bat.
Wider than my peripheral vision
her bulging eyes see
all around this room
all our absurd conundrums.
ここは畳のない空間
where the room could change
depending on the time of the day,
a season in a year,
or an event in our lives.
There is a giraffe in the room
Her brown patches like dappled light
falling from savannah trees
shout too loudly
all around this room
like our camouflaged scars.
ここは畳のない部屋
where the smell of rice reeds
could guide me through to adjoining rooms
襖の向こうへ、さらっと
slide open to other lives.
There is a giraffe in the room.
With her head reaching the sky,
her pillared legs begin to move.
I see her hooves kick the floor.
Her dry nose knows scents from
all around this room
and our fears, both known and unknown.
ここが畳の部屋だったら
掘り炬燵の温もりが
ほんわり, ぬくぬく
especially my toes, which could touch
yours or the giraffe’s, if you both just sat with me,
and said not much about our lives.
There is a giraffe in my room.