Two sisters are bathing under the bridge their father built over the river. The abundant water which is delighted with the arrival of spring combs the well-kept hair of the sisters.

Dresses of sisters on a rock ledge filled with morning light. Each ironed clean blouse and neat cotton apron are carefully folded.

He has sinned. Whose dress did he secretly hide? He keeps his eye on her drifting alone on a pool in the river forever. Admiring her reflection in the water, she is a beautiful water nymph who is also his lover, though.

On the other hand, she who wears her dress never returns to the river for fear of loneliness. Binding her disheveled hair at the back, she is enthusiastic about tracing maps of her hometown, going back to the past in her diary, formulating new salad dressings, cooking pork paying attention to the degree of roasting, and collecting vintage wines from all over the world. The collar of her blouse is frayed. With plenty of belly fat under her saggy T-shirt, she is a kind woman who is also my mother, though.

…

hiromi suzuki is a poet, fiction writer and artist living in Tokyo, Japan. She is the author of Ms. cried – 77 poems by hiromi suzuki (Kisaragi Publishing, 2013), logbook (Hesterglock Press, 2018), INVISIBLE SCENERY (Low Frequency Press, 2018), Andante (AngelHousePress, 2019), Found Words from Olivetti (Simulacrum Press, 2020), Ephemera (Colossive Press, 2021). Double solo exhibition with Francesco Thérès【visual HAIKU | OLIVETTI poems】 was held in Rome, 9 ～30 September 2021.

Web site: https://hiromisuzukimicrojournal.tumblr.com/

Twitter: @HRMsuzuki

Note: A Tale of the Swan Maiden is a part of the first poetry collection Ms. cried – 77 poems by hiromi suzuki (kisaragi publishing, 2013 ISBN978-4-901850-42-1). The poem written in Japanese have been translated by hiromi suzuki, 2022.