About this work
The poem compresses an inner argument into a few lines. By imagining every possible reply in advance, the speaker loses the ability to speak at all.
Parallel reading
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Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
俺の葛藤 北見 薫 2023.7.30
これを言ったら
こう返される
ああ言ったら
ああ返されそうで
何も言えなくなった
俺の心
これを言ったら
こう返される
ああ言ったら
ああ返されそうで
何も言えなくなった
俺の心
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
If I say this,
they will answer this way.
If I say that,
they will answer that way.
Unable to say a thing—
my heart.
Open the Japanese-only page
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.