Poetry in Motion

New York

You say, “I will come.”

Lady Otomo No Sakanoe
A horizontal poster with a colorful mosaic at the top features an excerpt from the poem, You Say, I Will Come, by Lady Otomo No Sakanoe. The poem has been translated into English from Japanese on the left.

You say, “I will come.”

You say, "I will come."
And you do not come.
Now you say, "I will not come."
So I shall expect you.
Have I learned to understand you?



Translated from the Japanese by Kenneth Rexroth

"You Say 'I Will Come'" by Lady Otomo No Sakanoe from 100 Poems from the Japanese, translated by Kenneth Rexroth. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.