雑誌『RiCE』の秋号「日本酒に乾杯」、特集巻頭ページにてお酒の詩を書かせて頂きました。『水の時刻』という一編が日英で書かれています。写真は在本彌生さん。燗酒をとろとろ杯に注ぎたくなる素敵な一冊。ぜひご覧ください。
月からこぼれた雨たちが
優しく大地に染み込むように
稲穂は水を抱きしめて
風の香りを閉じ込めて
磨かれてきた歳月を
とろとろ杯に注いだら
過去と未来をたゆたいながら
私はあなたと夢を見る
長い月日の夢を見る
『水の時刻』
100年ほど前、歌人の若山牧水は「夕暮れの部屋はさみしい」と言って酒を一滴、火に落として香らせた。1200年ほど前、唐代の詩人 李白は「今日は誰かと飲みたいな」と空から月を呼び寄せ、自分の影を起こし、三人で飲んだ。そしていま、俺はあなたと二人で飲んでいる。旨口の燗でほろ酔いの帰り道、牧水や李白の見た夢さえもすぐそこに感じながら、稲穂が風に揺れるこの豊かな景色を思い出す。
“Water in Time”
Like drops of rain, falling from the moon
and gently seeping into the earth,
the ears of rice embrace water
and envelop within their husks the aroma of the wind.
When we pour into our cups, drop by drop,
this manifestation of the months and years that have passed,
you and I will dream a dream;
a dream of pasts and of futures,
a dream beyond all time.
Around 100 years ago, the tanka poet Bokusui Wakayama declared that his “room at dusk was too sad and lonely,” and cast a single drop of sake on the fire in order to diffuse its aroma.
Around 1200 years ago, Li Bai, the legendary poet of Tang dynasty China, “wanted to drink with someone this night.” Summoning the moon from the sky, and raising his own shadow, he savored a drink with his two new companions.
Tonight, you and I are sharing a drink together. Pleasantly intoxicated with the rich, warm sake, I will make my way home, recalling the exquisite scenery of the rice tassel swaying in the breeze, and feeling closer than ever before to the dreams of Bokusui and Li Bai.
Comments by sugawarabin