Grass and Soil

母さん知らぬ 草の子を
なん千万の 草の子を
土はひとりで 育てます
草があおあお しげったら
土はかくれて しまうのに

Children of grass,who don’t know their own mother
Thousands of children of grass
Soil brings them up all alone
Once grass grow thick and lush
Soil will be hidden underneath

My favorite kid’s TV program has a poem introduction skit from time to time, and this one is on for this month. This poet, Misuzu Kaneko, created tons of those simple, innocent, yet very insightful poems, which are very touching, and sometimes move me to tears. The translation I made here might not be able to deliver the sense and feeling this poet has, but it touched me, especially now that I’m bringing up my own child, the devotion to your own child is enormous, yet the material reward is almost none.