Original Japanese
by Noriko Yoshida
『静岡県年利歌集』 第十二集静岡市 黒船印刷 昭和57年1月10日
A Free Translation
by T Newfields
My Newborn Baby:
A Maternal Ode
With rhythmic heart beats
breaking free from darkness
my child ventures into this world
Gurgling softly at my breasts
and nursing whole-heartedly
I feel the strength of her new life
With the scent of milk from my breasts
I feel inner joy as a mother
Holding my peacefully nursing child
I listen to this morning's audio symphony
Satisfied with my milk, my daughter's
tiny palms delicately move
as she offers a beaming smile
Her fingers are like tiny petals
fluttering in a floating breeze
Even while resting, her eyes sparkle
as if she just arrived from
the mythical world of Kenji Miyazawa
Noticing how she becomes totally absorbed
in each single leaf, I envy her
Unaccustomed to this new world
and facing a vast unknown
I feel lost by so many dazzling uncertainties
and so is my child by the
myriads of sensations around her