Her voice could topple the mightiest look

Poem for the film The Ballad of Narayama

She is on the top of the mountain

Honored and regal

I cannot look back,

She held me as a wailing infant, yet I cannot keep her in my fearful embrace

Why does the mountain not crumble?

Why Does it stand so proudly?

What did it do to be so strong?

She’s weathered storms and thunder,

And stands just as tall.

She’s a ballad in physical shape,

My mother

Goes to the top of the world to keep

Us down below, quietly afflicted with reality.