Let's Just Listen Poem by Keith Shorrocks Johnson

The steady rain has set in again -

Across the valley the mists rise

There is a path that leads down

But I can no longer discern it.



The hut's laths and sills are sodden

The door frame grates the jambs

The roof shrugs off its waterlogging:

I will stay still and likewise settle.



This rain, so endless, so beautiful

That becomes the threshold of my life -

Thinking and belief set aside

There is nothing more delightful.




ALTERNATIVE VERSON FROM TRANSLATING TO JAPANESE AND RE-TRANSLATING BACK TO ENGLISH

Steady rain began to fall again-
The fog rises over the valley
There is a way to continue
But I can no longer identify it.

The lath and sill of the hut are soaked
The door frame grate the side pillars
The roof shrugs flooding:
I'm still and calm as well.

This rain is very endless and very beautiful
That will be the threshold of my life -
Thoughts and beliefs are set aside
Nothing is more fun.