Pizzicato Five - Poetry Reading by Genqui Numata текст песни

keitaro: well, today
as usual we have
a special guest.

a wonderful guest
has agreed to come here today.
he's an artist.
the pictures you saw
on the screen
before are his.
please a big applause
to a great poet
and a great photographer
ladies and gentlemen, mr genqui numata.

numata: hi, y'all.
my name is genqui numata.
tonight i will
read
a poem.
i dedicate this poem
to pizzicato five.
to a person descending a staircase.

hey you, who are descending this staircase
with sweat on your brow
afraid of going down you let your gaze
glide down the stairs like a shadow.
yes, you.
this underpass in springtime smells of dust
and a lukewarm breeze blows by.
keep up your rhythm
keep up your rhythm
and climb down those stairs
as if your life depended on that.
pass by that leaning building
kick the dogs away
kick the cats too
and go fast to the ticket counter.
legs
are sometimes
independent beings.
keep up your rhythm
keep up your rhythm
and when you can't take it anymore
when your body
and your legs have reached their limit
at that time
a soft fall will ensue.
you feel as if
your legs fell off your body
or maybe there's a pause
like a heart attack
but you don't know what it is.

you don't
know.
you gradually
gather up speed
and as you speed up your legs
and your trembling lips start to resonate.
the fall comes at the last moment
and makes it easier.
and you ask yourself
who are we?
who am i
after al?
your joints squeak
am i nothing but
a crawling work of art?
am i nothing but
a voice sounding away
accross this sky
so blue it looks like it's been dyed?
am i nothing but
the speed of
this fall through thin air?
shadow that melts away
voice that dies away
voice from the subway
keep up your rhythm
keep up your rhythm
with grace
with flair
hey you, legs,
hey you, my distant legs
let's go on a stroll
as the silent time goes by
the city silently
opens itself.
goodbye.