About this work
A broken plate and a cut finger release suppressed feelings and prompt a reflection on hurt and kindness. This English version is an editorial translation for access; the Japanese text remains available alongside it for comparison.
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日本語原文 Japanese original
たいせつなもの 壊した
たいせつなもの 壊れた
たいせつなお皿を、床に落とした
割れて粉々に散ったから
割れたお皿の破片をひとつひとつ
泣きながら拾った
破片に指が傷ついたよ
指先に赤い血が滲んでぽたぽたと
床に落ちたのを見てはっとした
傷ついた指先よりも
心は痛かった
そういえば最近泣いたことなかった
何もかも我慢して耐えていたのかも
感情的はみっともないことかな
だけど指先は痛いよ
じんじんしてきたから泣いた
我慢していたから
涙がたまっていたみたい
落とした皿で傷ついたけれど
ほんとうに傷ついたのは
落とされたお皿の方なのかも
お皿もわたしも傷ついた
それがわかった
優しさってなんだろう
ほんとうの優しさって・・・
わたしのたいせつなもの
割れたお皿を眺めてそう思ったわたしがいた
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
Something Precious
Nao Takatori
2023.12.9
Something Precious
Broken
Something Precious
Broke
I dropped the precious plate on the floor
It shattered into pieces
I picked up each piece of the broken plate
Crying as I did so
My finger was hurt by the shard
Blood seeped from my fingertip, dripping
Seeing the blood drop on the floor, I gasped
More than the hurt fingertip
My heart was hurting
That's right, I haven't cried recently
Maybe I've been enduring everything
Is it unemotional to show emotion?
But my fingertip hurts
I cried because it was hurting
Because I had been holding back
It felt like tears had been building up
I got hurt by the dropped plate
But maybe what was truly hurt was
The plate that was dropped
The plate and I were both hurt
I realized that
What is kindness?
What is true kindness?
My Something Precious
I looked at the broken plate and thought that, I was there
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.