Morning of the Last Farewell (Eiketsu no Asa)

My little sister,
About to depart to a place far beyond before the day is out.
The sleet has fallen outside, and it’s oddly bright.
(Gemme some ameyuju willyoo Kenj’ya.）

From the clouds of pale-red, that is all the more bleak,
The sleet comes a-dripping and a-drizzling down
(Gemme me some ameyuju willyoo Kenj’ya.）

Gathering the sleet snow for you to nibble on,
Inside two chipped porcelain bowls with
The junsai[water-shield]plant painted blue,
I, like a stray bullet,
Darted out into the dark of the [falling] sleet.
(Gemme me some ameyuju willyoo Kenj’ya.）

From the bismuth-colored dark clouds,
The sleet comes a-dripping and a-drizzling down.
Oh Toshiko,
At a time like this,
When you’re on the brink of death,
You have asked me for a scoop-full of refreshing snow,
Thank you, my little sister, so giving and brave,
I too will continue ahead straight onward.
(Gemme some ameyuju willyoo, Kenj’ya）

In between the oh-so violent fevers and gasping,
You asked me to get
The last bowl-ful of snow, descended from the skies,
The realm of galaxies and suns and atmospheres…
.. Upon two quarry-blocks of granite,
where the sleet are lonesomely deposited,
I perched upon them precariously.
And from the glistening pine-boughs
Filled with cold transparent beads that maintain
The hoar-white, two-phase equilibria betwixt snow and water,
I shall take away the last food for my little sister.
The indigo-colored patterns on the familiar bowls that
We grew up with,
You’ll be parted from them too, after today.
(Ora Orade Shitori egumo
[I'll just go off on my own I will])

It’s true, you really are departing from us today,
Oh, within the enclosure of the patient’s room,
On the other side of the dark folding-screen and mosquito nets,
You are burning away with pale blue light,
My little sister, so brave.
This snow is so awfully pure-white, wherever you might choose.
From those frightful, roiling skies,
This beautiful snow has come.
(I’m gonna be born again, and
next time, I’ll make sure everything won’t be so bad
I hurt so muuuch all the time.)

To those two bowl-fuls of snow you’re eating,
I will now pray, from my heart.
Oh may this [snow] now turn into a heavenly ice cream
Providing you and everyone holy sustenance.
This I pray with all the ability I can muster.

---Kenji Miyazawa

Cry if you need to......

Cry if you need to......

Because it has lived its life intensely
the parched grass still attracts the gaze of passer-by
The flowers merely flower,
and they do this as well as they can.
The white lily, blooming unseen in the valley,
doesn't need to explain itself to anyone;
It lives merely for beauty.
Men, however, can not accept that 'merely'.

If tomatoes wanted to be melons,
they would look completely ridiculous.
I am always amazed
that so many people are concerned
with wanting to be what they are not ;
What's the point of making yourself look ridiculous ?

You don't always have to pretend to be strong,
there's no need to prove all the time that everything is going well,
You shouldn't be concerned about what other people are thinking
Cry if you need to
it's good to cry out all your tears
(because only then will you be able to smile again)

--- English translation of a poem by Japanese Poet Mitsuo Aida

Gondola no Uta (The Gondola Song)

Life is brief.
fall in love, maidens
before the crimson bloom
fades from your lips
before the tides of passion
cool within you,
for those of you
who know no tomorrow

life is brief
fall in love, maidens
before his hands
take up his boat
before the flush of his cheeks fades
for those of you
who will never return here

life is brief
fall in love, maidens
before the boat drifts away
on the waves
before the hand resting on your shoulder
becomes frail
for those who will never
be seen here again

life is brief
fall in love, maidens
before the raven tresses begin to fade
before the flame in your hearts
flicker and die
for those to whom today
will never return.

---Lyrics were written by Isamu Yoshii, melody by Shinpei Nakayama.
It was used as a theme song in Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru.

I Know Tears

When your heart is
shaken about with tears...
What sould I be doing to help you out?
Even looking up at the sky...
My heart hurts as much as yours.

Something that you
don't have to get hurt over...
Everyone accidentally feels...
Just like the times
when you're surprised...
...by how cold the water really is.

Now, just being here right next to you...
It's all that I can do, and nothing else...
All the smiles that I can
make just for you, anytime...
...I'll embrace and send to
you, whenever you need it.

You can blieve it,
dreams will someday be reality...
Just for you and only for you...
It is okay to cry, because
deep inside that heart of yours...
...every piece of
sadness turns to wings...
...for you to fly.

--- Taken from the Original Translation of closing song of animation series Rurouni Kenshin.