Today

I've already written of Fusako Shigenobu [重信 房子]. Currently imprisoned until 2027, Fusako has repeatedly undergone critical surgery 3 times during her battle against both colon and intestinal cancer; she is being treated in a facility near Shōwa Memorial Park. An ex-literature student, it is not surprising to know that she writes poems during her spare time; I've come across the online outlet 「オリーブの樹」["Olive Branch"], which not only publishes her seasonal poems but also covers Middle-East politics in-depth. Each passing season of the year, Fusako writes an entire page, comprising 9 poems; has done this since 2006. As I'm translating a huge bulk of her short poetry, I leave one example here:

格子越し遠い光に目を凝らし雲間を過ぎる満月を眺むる

The distant light pours into this cell; I keep my eyes on the clouds, as the fullmoon passes behind them