Today’s choice
Previous poems
Mai Ishikawa
Taxi
I took shelter under a tree, where you also sheltered.
You looked at me awkwardly, as if to say Excuse me
before shaking your feathers – a tiny droplet landed on my cheek.
Suspended, we held each other responsible
for the silence. We listened to the rain landing drop after drop,
spreading a beaded carpet over us, and we appreciated
that we had no words in common. You began
to sing – like a radio turned on by a taxi driver
in Tokyo, wearing white gloves. You signalled to look up
at the stars – nameless like us – humming the day-to-day
joy. The rain set its foot on the brakes nearing
the destination. You took off,
shedding the stars.
Mai Ishikawa is a Japanese translator/poet based in Dublin. Her poems have appeared in the Irish journals The Stony Thursday Book, Banshee, Ragaire and Channel. Winner of Kyoto Writing Competition Unohana Prize and a participant of Dedalus Press Mentoring Programme.
The line ‘nameless like us – humming the day-to-day joy’ is Mai’s own translation of a 60s Japanese pop song sung by Kyu Sakamoto (lyrics by Rokusuke Ei).
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