At the Exhibition of Japanese Ceramics, by Roman Khe, Translated from Russian by Sasha A. Palmer

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake, by Hiroshige (Japan) 1857

Russian:

​НА ВЫСТАВКЕ ЯПОНСКОЙ КЕРАМИКИ

Блуждаю по залу,
ускользая как лис
в узкое горлышко
гудящего кувшина,
плачущего музыкой,
знакомой мне с детства,
где я витаю
прозрачной дымкой
рассвета, откуда
на свет появляются
странные иероглифы
на поющем свистке
протяжного времени,
из плена у которого
вырвусь, лишь став
пронзительным свистом,
лепетом, болью,
иль каплей воды
на голубой вазе,
похожей на огромный
лист лопуха,
под которым мне хочется
мокнуть с тобою
от тёплого ливня
и от восхитительных
слёз любви.

Roman Khe

At the Exhibition of Japanese Ceramics

I wander the hall
stealing away like a fox
through the narrow mouth
of the humming jug
that is crying with music
I have known since childhood
where I am
the hovering pellucid haze
of dawn, out of which
strange hieroglyphs evolve
entering this world
carved upon the singing whistle
of the long-drawn-out time
that will hold me captive
unless I become
the sharp whistling
babble, pain
or a drop of water
on the blue vase
that resembles an enormous
burdock leaf
beneath which I want
to get soaked with you
caught in the warm rain
wet with delightful
tears of love.

Sasha A. Palmer

Roman Khe,  an acclaimed poet, singer-songwriter, and translator, was born in 1949 on the Sakhalin Island, to a Korean refugee family. Fully bilingual, Roman Khe has been writing poetry since the age of nine; first in Korean and, after his twenty-fifth birthday — in Russian. Roman Khe is the author of five collections of poetry, prose, and translations. He lives in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia.

Sasha A. Palmer is an award-winning poet, and translator. She is the recipient of the international translation Compass Award for Russian poetry in English. Sasha’s poetry, translations, and essays have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Slovo/Word, Cardinal Points and elsewhere. Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, she currently lives in Maryland. Visit Sasha at www.sashaapalmer.com

Flower Vase with Lugs, Iga ware, Edo period, 17th century, Japan. Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons