MORE, I THINK I'LL LIVE
The following is a recently written poem by Her Majesty, the Empress Michiko, of Japan, which I think is a particularly lovely tanka. In order to make its structure clear to English readers, it is presented here differently than it would be in Japan. This, I think, could not be helped. However, if there is any fault, whether in transcription or translation, the fault is mine. The original, written earlier this year (2019), is a thing of great beauty.
今しばし
Ima shibashi
生きなむと思う
Ikinamu to omou
寂光に
Jakkou ni
園の薔薇の
Sono no soubi no
まな美しく
Mina utsukushiku
I'll still be staying;
more, I think I'll live life's days in
sunshine's quiet rays.
Garden roses, bright displays,
all are filled with beauty's ways.
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