The sight of the riverbank when I was a child

After that I walked from the bank of the Hirose River
In the direction of the Red Cross
But the horse tied to the willow trees next to the river
Was tired like me
But the horse looked tired from summer fatigue
And didn’t even move around the riverbank
I don’t know how long it had been tied there
While its owner ran errands in town
But he came back very drunk
And because I was a child
I walked downstream
Sometimes when I think back to this
I only see the dirty and unkempt horse’s tail and rump
With no relationship to me and the
Surface of the Hirose River
The setting sun shines

Source: Tokuji Suzuki’s collection of paintings: Proof of Life – From a Hansen’s Disease Sanatorium, (Koseisha, 2002).