Linked by Fate

May 9th


Waking up naturally
Is the best
I LOVE the feeling of it.


I usually have to wake up
To go to bathroom
When a home care aid comes to assist.
Bathroom time determines
When to eat
When to drink.


When my sister is around
I don't have to worry about
Bathroom time.
Hip Hip Hooray


Tea and coffee
Oranges and bananas
I can eat when
I want.
Hip Hip Hooray


Sis Kimi got up 30 minutes earlier.
On raisin bread
Mayo smeared
Topped with cheese
Underneath red tomato hides.
With café au lait


Is it what they call
A happy life?
Is it what they call
An ordinary happiness?


Sis Kyoko came with
Lunch
After Brunch


If I were healthy
I would have hearty appetite.


Hip Hip Hooray
Hip Hip Hooray


Cheering
Didn’t boost my
Appetite.
Too bad, delish it was.


Fried horse mackerel
Eggplants
Kabocha Squash
Perfect with white rice


Three sisters
Each of us
Has walked down the path of our own.
And each is living
A life of our own.


Alas
And yet
And so
We are having such a good time.
We have been linked
By fate.


Afternoon
My caseworker
Kikuchi-san came to
Talk about nursing facilities
I have to decide
Which path I will take.


Which way would fate
Turn?
At a crossroad
The choice is
Mine.


I said to Sis
For the first time I said,
“I might not live to see the end of the year.”


Suddenly
The light went off
And the room went black.
I didn’t touch the remote…


It was Dad.
I knew it.
“The end of the year.”
I wonder if his spirit came to dismiss,
Or came for me.


Which path will the fate
Take my life to?
From tomorrow
From now.

Poem by Maria Franki

Edited and translated by J. Ujiie