Hiromi Ito translated by Zon Samine
Winter 2025 | Poetry
Heartbeat
I cut the pinions so as to avoid departure
The primaries are cut
The secondaries are cut
And the tertials as well, just to make sure
Then pinched out the tail feather, broke the inner, outer, and middle digits
One by one, and broke the beak
Then opened wide the window
Sticking out both hands as if reaching the clouds
Flinging into the sky
鼓動
伊藤比呂美
旅立たないように風切羽を切った
初列風切を切り
次列風切を切り
念を入れて三列風切を切った
それから尾羽を抜き、内趾だの外趾だの中趾だの
ひとつひとつ折って、嘴を折った
それからいっぱいに窓を開け
雲に届くくらい両手を突き出して
空の中に投げ込んでやったんだ
Hiromi Ito, one of the most prominent poets from Japan, has explored themes including gender and the body, nature, and migration. Her unique approach capturing the lives of women has resonated with readers across the world. Her works in English include Killing Kanoko: Selected Poems of Hiromi Ito (2009), Wild Grass on the Riverbank (2014), and The Thorn Puller (2022), all translated by Jeffrey Angles, and Tree Spirits Grass Spirits (2023) translated by Jon L Pitt. She served as a professor at Waseda University from 2018 to 2021.
Zon Samine is a Japanese poet and has written two volumes of poetry Taigan e to (2015) and Kumo no Namae (2023), both of which were published from Shichosha. The latter volume is the recipient of the 35th Rekitei Shin-ei Award, given to "the most vivid and pioneering collection of the year in Japanese poetry." Having lived in America for 13 years, he has worked on international poetry exchange between Japan and America, including translation of poems by Kimiko Hahn, Ilya Kaminsky, Terrance Hayes, and Ange Mlinko. He currently resides in Tokyo.