
I was reading Bashō, (if you couldn’t tell) and messing about for this piece with a Japanese translation, made by using Google Translate. I have no Japanese language skills, so can’t tell if the kanji and the romanji versions have the necessary elegance and spirit, or are clunky and poorly expressed. The title roughly translates as colours of the wreathed stone.
One version has the rain making calligraphy, the other a tattoo. Bashō talked about getting a paper coat for his travels, to protect him from the rain. I assume it must be waxed, but imagined miles and miles of words leaving scribbled or hammered marks, but quickly pouring away and vanishing.
Colours of the wreathed stone 花輪の岩の色 Hanawa no iwo no iro
i will wear
a paper coat
so spring rain
as it falls
may write on me
a tattoo
that quickly fades
着るでしょう
紙のコート
その春の雨
それが落ちるよう
私に書くかもしれません
入れ墨
それはすぐに消えます
kiredeshou
kami no kōto
sono haru no ame
sore ga ochiru yō
watashi ni kaku kamo shiremasen
irezumi
sore wa sugu ni kiemasu
i will wear
a paper coat
so summer rain
may write on me
as it falls
a calligraphy
that quickly fades
着るでしょう
紙のコート
その春の雨
それが落ちるよう
私に書くかもしれません
書道
それはすぐに消えます
kiredeshou
kami no kōto
sono natsu no ame
sore ga ochiru yō
watashi ni kaku kamo shiremasen
shodō
sore wa sugu ni kiemasu
About the Creator
C S Hughes
C S Hughes grew up on the edges of sea glass cities and dust red towns. He has been published online and on paper. His work tends to the lurid, and sometimes to the ludicrous, but seeks beauty in all its ecstasy and artifice.


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