夢の病室 / Dreamy Hospital Room

痛い痛いと隣の人がいう

体を捩じらせベッドを拗らす人がその隣にいる

目の前には大きな口を開けて

睡眠薬で眠る父がいる

私はパイプ椅子に腰をかけている

もうあまり役に立たない父の喉仏は

唾を飲み込むたびに

小さな亀のように時折上下する

綺麗に揃った歯も

もう使われることもなく

整然とあるべきところに直立している

大きな目がギョロリ

あれ起きたかな

眉毛が額に近づく

薄目になったのは

空の隙間から天を見てるから？

隣の人は歌い出した

秋の日の長閑な光線のように歌声は

毎昼この病室に届けられる讃美歌

その隣の人は

猫のように毛布に包まって

真っ黒いお目目をしっかりと開いて

歌に合わせて笑っている

大きく空いた黒い口洞が

この宇宙をすべて吸い込んだあと

ゆっくりと閉じていく

手の先に届く父の目も閉じた

初めて見る父の寝顔が

こんなにも表情豊かだったなんて

讃美歌と笑い声を聞きながら

父は夢を見ている

パイプ椅子に座っている私

こんな４人のひと時の病室

ここは夢の病室

夢の中だけに現れる夢の病室

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The person on the next bed says, "It hurts, it hurts"

Next to him, another one twists his body and writhes in bed

I sit on a metal chair in the hospital room

Before me, my father sleeps with his mouth wide open,

sedated by sleeping pills.

His Adam's apple, which is no longer of much use,

moves up and down like a small turtle

His neatly aligned teeth are no longer used,

standing upright in the position where they should be

His big eyes opened out of blue

”Did he wake up?”

His eyebrows draw closer to his forehead

then his eyes closed halfway

Is that because he steals a glance at the heaven to get ready?

The person on the next bed starts to sing

Like the tranquil rays of an autumn sun,

the hymn is delivered to this room every noon

Another person next to him,

wrapped in a blanket like a cat,

opens his pitch-black eyes wide

adds chuckling laughter to the song

The father’s wide black mouth slowly closes

after breathes in the entire universe

His eyes that within my reach slowly close down

Listening to the hymn and laughter,

my father dreams

I still sit on a metal chair

This is the hospital room for all of us

a dreamy hospital room

that appears only in the dream

11/11/2024