Poem, LONDON
Nov 02, 2021
Putting It Back Together
by Astrid Alben
Outside the wind overturns a bin plastic forks orange-tinted
paper God’s gift to advertising Godzilla with
an amputated tail empty bag translucent waiting skin
a stranger’s lips torn apart while best begin again plays
I found that book under chicken scraps pages flutter drunk
birdlike it can be roses what’s mine shadows on a hot day
in April a hotel room just for the night and putting it all back
together that is that is
note
Japanese Translation by Akiko Yamanaka. While teaching English (as a language) at Nippon Institute of Technology and Dokkyo University, she studies modern American poetry (20th century). She started reading poetry in her college seminar (as a student at Dokkyo University) and chose John Berryman for her dissertation, which led her all the way here.
もとにもどす
アストリッド・アルベン
訳 山中章子
外で風がひっくり返すゴミ箱プラスチックのフォークにオレンジ色の
紙きれ神からの贈り物はしっぽの切れた
ゴジラを広めていく半透明の空袋は待っている肌
引き裂かれた誰かの唇 はじまりのうたが流れているとき
わたしはあの本を見つけた食べちらかしたチキンの下でページはベロベロの
鳥みたいに羽ばたいてバラの花だろうか自分のものが影を落とす四月の
暑い日ひと晩だけのホテルの部屋そしてぜんぶもとに
もどしていく それは それは
注
山中章子（やまなかあきこ）。現在は日本工業大学と獨協大学で英語教員をしつつ、アメリカ現代詩を研究。獨協大学の原ゼミでアメリカ現代詩を読み始め、卒論にJohn Berrymanを選んだおかげで現在に至る。
Astrid Alben
Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. She is the author of Ai! Ai! Pianissimo (Arc, 2011), Plainspeak (Prototype, 2019) and the forthcoming Little Dead Rabbit (Prototype, 2022). Her poems, essays and reviews are featured in a wide range of publications, including in the Times Literary Supplement, Granta and BBC Radio 4 Four-Thought.
Alben is the editor of three art/science anthologies published by Lars Müller Publications and was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in 2014 for her work across the arts and sciences with PARS. She is Chair of Poetry London and lives in London.
www.astridalben.com / @AstridAlben
