Last week I made a new poetry discovery which is always a thrilling thing: the poem ‘Rain Won’t’ by Kenji Miyazawa, one of Japan’s foremost 20th century poets. Miyazawa’s last poem was found, written in pencil in his notebook, when he died in 1933. In its spare and simple lines he says so much about the environment, care for others and determination to live a good, humble life. Thank you to Yuka Nakai for sharing this poem with me in such a beautiful edition (translated by Arthur Binard with elegant illustrations by Koji Yamamura, published by Imajinsha). I will treasure it.
Rain Won’t
Sue Dymoke Poetry 