Sounds from Japan

By Bai Hua

Things, large and small, fall on the carpet and the floor,
their sounds are different, the former dull and the latter loud.

At dawn, wooden floor will sound while it is lightly trodden on
Wooden wall  will occasionally sound pecking like a woodpecker

What are the omens of old furniture, the chair snapped with a click
Don't scare Mr. Akutagawa, he loved ancient cypress in Suzhou

Kanreki Celebration (1947)-Daikon Radish Salad, Fish Balls, Sunset Rice Bowl
At the sound of frying, the star finally found the Sinologist, Masaru Aoki

Sounds like it's leaking，where does it come from? The sink upstairs?
It can't be the sound of a horse urinating late at night that Bashō wrote about.

Oct. 21，2014 / translated by Chen Zihong

日本声音

柏桦

东西无论大小，落在地毯上和地板上，
声音是不同的，前者沉闷，后者响亮。

破晓时，木楼板轻踩上去会发出声音
墙体，偶尔也会发出啄木鸟的剥啄声

旧家具有何征兆，椅子咔嚓，响了一声
别吓着了芥川龙之介呀，他爱过苏州古柏

花甲之宴（1947）醋拌萝卜丝、鱼圆、晚霞饭
煎炒声里，恒星终于发现了汉学家青木正儿

哪来的漏水般的汩汩声？楼上的洗手池？
总不可能是深夜里松尾芭蕉写的马尿声吧……

2014年10月21日