Photo by Hasan Almasi / Unsplash
Reposted From Guernica Magazine
Once Upon a Time . . .
(10/20/1916–10/22/1916)
I.
Once upon a time, there was a lord who lit
Fire to his castle, so as to be free to wander
the great roads of the world.
He ventured everywhere, stopping only when
his means were spent.
And here I sit, trying to rid myself of my own
foolishness.
II.
Once upon a time, there was a stray dog
Who prowled the grassy meadows, until
One day a boy unintentionally beat it to
death.
And here I sit, wondering when I can see
the gates of my home again.
III.
Once upon a time, there was a boy who always
dressed in opulent clothes,
Until one day he sold everything, his clothes
and even his jewels,
But found no buyers for his slender body—
Now he was no less of a fool, only one in
the throes of nakedness.
IV.
Once upon a time, a starving boy from a poor home
went begging
At the gates of a wealthy household, who pitied the boy.
Every day, they filled his stomach with food, until one day
The boy died abruptly, as if to requite their charity.
V.
Once upon a time, a boy from a house in the east
went begging
At the house of a neighbor in the west.
And when he returned home, what did he see?
Heavy, interminable rains beating down on his
moldering home.
VI.
Once upon a time, a boy lived a carefree existence,
Blind to the growing strife around him, until
one day
The flames of war began to rage, and he learned
There is no better cure for hunger than death.
Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) is best known as a novelist. A renowned scholar of English literature, Sōseki was also a prolific essayist and poet in the haiku and kanshi traditions. Recurrent themes in Sōseki’s poems include ordinary people struggling against economic hardship, the tension between individual and society, and the social consequences of rapid industrialization.
Ryan Choi is the author of In Dreams: The Very Short Stories of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and the forthcoming “Three Demons”: A Study on Sanki Saitō’s Haiku. He is an editor at AGNI. His writings and translations have appeared in Harper’s, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Nation, The New Criterion, Raritan, The Times Literary Supplement, and other outlets. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, where he was born and raised.
COMMUNIST PARTY OF MAINE 