Very

Hiroshi Kawasaki

Translated from the Japanese by Andrew Donovan with assistance from Hirofumi Kaji and Jared Miracle
Originally published in New Madrid

What the hell is that thing
far away
rushing fast
so, so
far away,
slamming around,
its body splintering,
with such a drumroll,
with such speed?
Could it be something terrible
happening
to an old friend?
Could it be grim memories
(with tremendous force)
coming my way?
There is a Toyota,
weighed down with flowers,
that laughs strangely
as it is torn apart

What was that just now?
That terribly fast thing
still very far away?

Whale Song (Longing)

Hiroshi Kawasaki

Translated from the Japanese by Andrew Donovan with assistance from Jared Miracle
Originally published in New Madrid

Wanted: a midwife with good arms.

All things
can be neatly resolved
with a falling-out.

Wanted on this street corner:
an unsaddled mare from nowhere.
Seeking: a world without pensions.

And we need campfires on the beach,
a man with good eyes
in our watchtower, shouting,
“Whale shark!”
And us, “Get on it!”
Before we advance in small boats.
And the sea’s surface—silver.
And the skipjacks—
they have no chance.

This is the norm.

Men and women, always
spangled in sweat, chasing,
being chased. Grins flare up
and there is laughter.

The Good—wouldn’t it be nice
if we didn’t have to speak of it?