Mayu Kanamori reading ‘キリンの居る部屋’

There is a giraffe in the room.
She blinks slowly.
I see her lashes bat.
Wider than my peripheral vision
her bulging eyes see
all around this room
all our absurd conundrums.

ここは畳のない空間
where the room could change
depending on the time of the day,
a season in a year,
or an event in our lives.

There is a giraffe in the room
Her brown patches like dappled light
falling from savannah trees
shout too loudly
all around this room
like our camouflaged scars.

ここは畳のない部屋
where the smell of rice reeds
could guide me through to adjoining rooms
襖の向こうへ、さらっと
slide open to other lives.

There is a giraffe in the room.
With her head reaching the sky,
her pillared legs begin to move.
I see her hooves kick the floor.
Her dry nose knows scents from
all around this room
and our fears, both known and unknown.

ここが畳の部屋だったら
掘り炬燵の温もりが
ほんわり, ぬくぬく
especially my toes, which could touch
yours or the giraffe's, if you both just sat with me,
and said not much about our lives.

There is a giraffe in my room.

Pronunciation guide and translation

Glossary

tatami (畳): a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms

kukan (空間): space

heya (部屋): room

fusuma (襖): vertical rectangular panels, usually made of paper, which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as sliding doors

horigotatsu (炬燵): a low, wooden table with a hole dug underneath the floor, and frame covered by a heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits.

nukumori (温もり): warmth (felt by the body)

Mayu Kanamori was born and raised in Tokyo. She went to school with American expatriates in Japan, and then studied philosophy in Melbourne as a young adult. Since 1989 she has lived in Sydney, except for a 3-year period when she worked as a researcher for an Australian news organisation in Japan. Storytelling is what she does. Her major art works have been presented in theatre seasons and arts festivals, and her commissioned works have appeared in publications, museums installations, and more recently, heritage-related smartphone apps. She is currently writing plays, blogs and poetry and creating visual and collaborative performative works using photography, sound and text.

Website: mayu.com.au 
Instagram: @mayukanamori