About this work
A poem imagines each morning as a personal renewal, looking toward changing tastes, relationships and possibilities. This English version is an editorial translation for access; the Japanese text remains available alongside it for comparison.
Parallel reading
日本語と英語で読む
Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
新しい朝を迎えるように
新しい私が今日も生まれるの。
昨日までの事は全て過去だから
いつかそっと想い出せばいいの。
過去に執着している時間はない
だって時は待ってくれないもの。
毎朝、私は変わるの
そう携帯をアップデートするみたいに
最新の自分にステップアップだ。
気になる人は誰で
気になる色は何色かしら
気になる曲は意外と古いものだけど。
見るもの全てが新鮮な輝きを放って
どんどん眩しく変わっていく
時よ、物たちよ、これから私をどう変える？
どんな小径を切り拓くの？
歩き出した私に、みんながHi！
昨日までの私に So long.
そして私は今日という生き物の耳元で囁くの、
You’re not my first lover but you’re my last!
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
A New Me
Nao Takatori
2023.8.17
A New Me is born again today.
As if to greet a new morning,
A New Me is born again today.
Everything up to yesterday is already the past,
So just let it be a gentle memory someday.
There is no time clinging to the past,
Because time does not wait for anyone.
Every morning, I change,
Just like updating my phone,
Stepping up to the latest version of myself.
Who is the person I care about?
What color am I interested in?
What song am I interested in?
It's surprisingly old.
All things I see emit a fresh brilliance,
And keep changing more and more dazzlingly.
Time, things, how will you change me from now on?
Which small path will you carve out for me?
Everyone greets me as I start walking,
Hi!
To the me of yesterday, So long.
And I whisper to the ear of this living being called today,
You're not my first lover but you're my last!
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.