From the translator’s journal ~Memory of my father~

“The universe, that is, vibration”
This was my father’s favorite phrase.

I remember that I embraced him twice in my life:
once in an ambulance, and the second time in his bed.
He passed away in my arms in a hospital.

Since then, some marvelous events occurred.
At the night of the vigil, I heard the sound of his footsteps.
I called my sister upstairs, and we chatted about him.
His watch answered each time as if to agree with us.

On the eve of his burial,
I lit a candle and turned on the radio for him,
who loved music so much.

Lo and behold!
It was Auld Lang Syne.
It played through the night
like an endless tape.

I sat up all night
with his cremains in my arms.
The candlelight remained
all through the night.

Through the vibration of music,
the shimmering of the candle,
and the vibration of a soul,
he let me know the eternal life.

It was a “knowing” experience
to feel an invisible presence.
I still remember his favorite phrase:
“The universe, that is, vibration”
(Father’s Day, 2021)

Teruko Yamakawa (translator)