My ailment
might have been given
to live a metaphysical life,
to look deeply at life.

It might have been
to think about the other side of suffering
through the experience,
that I fell ill in Paris.

Life is absurd,
said Albert Camus.
I thought that way too
when I was young.

Growing older,
my eyes are looking toward
the other side of suffering
the other side of absurdity.

Now, the pandemic is here.
The pandemic itself is absurd.
What is hidden behind
the other side of it?

Will a new civilization come?
Will a new era begin?
What will be born from the pandemic?

What will become,
of the dreams, the values, and
the expectations of the young?

Wish we could entrust them
with a bright future,
not a negative legacy,
with faith in tomorrow.
(May 31, 2021)

Teruko Yamakawa (translator)