Lemon Elegy

Kotaro Takamura (1883-1956) is one of famous Japanese poets and is known as a devoted husband who loved his wife Chieko:) I like his passionate poets.

Lemon Elegy by Kotaro Takamura, translated by Paul Archer.

You had been so waiting for a lemon
In your sad and white and bright deathbed,
Your perfect teeth bit with a crunch
Into the lemon you took from my hand.
A topaz coloured scent arose.
Those few drops of heavenly lemon juice
Suddenly made you normal again.
Your shining lucid eyes smiled gently,
You gripped my hand with such a healthy strength!
Though there was a storm in your throat,
In these last moments of your life
You became the old Chieko again,
You focused a life of love into one moment
And then you took a big breath
Like on the mountain peaks long ago,
And in that breath your engine shut down.
Today, once again, under the cherry blossoms
By your photograph, I'll put a coldly shining lemon.

Paul Archer; http://www.paularcher.net/translations.html