“One day, Také stopped, too tired to go any further.”
February 8, 2023 11:29 AM Subscribe
Three short essays by Japanese poet Hiromi Itō about her aging, beloved German Shepherd named Také. Each essay, translated by Jeffrey Angles and his students, portrays Také at different stages of life, from puppyhood to her final days.
It's beginning to feel like this is Metafilter's "Memento Mori" Canine Week edition.
The 18 year old is curled up in his bed next to me under the heater with an open door blowing in the afternoon air and the sound of his waterfall rolling past. His siblings are out in the sun, sniffing the lunchtime smells of the burger joint just down the street and barking at the kids playing in the nearby school yard.
The next oldest with his stumpy little legs is beginning to creak a bit - and I'm worried about him developing arthritis in this stubs. The youngest, the one who had no real human contact for her first 3.5 years, keeps bolting into the garage and looking at me as if to say "hey, big ugly scary dude... can you let me back in the house?"
It's terribly unfair that they don't hang around with us. Wouldn't it be great to have that one "soul animal" with you for your days like a Pullman Daemon?
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:55 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The 18 year old is curled up in his bed next to me under the heater with an open door blowing in the afternoon air and the sound of his waterfall rolling past. His siblings are out in the sun, sniffing the lunchtime smells of the burger joint just down the street and barking at the kids playing in the nearby school yard.
The next oldest with his stumpy little legs is beginning to creak a bit - and I'm worried about him developing arthritis in this stubs. The youngest, the one who had no real human contact for her first 3.5 years, keeps bolting into the garage and looking at me as if to say "hey, big ugly scary dude... can you let me back in the house?"
It's terribly unfair that they don't hang around with us. Wouldn't it be great to have that one "soul animal" with you for your days like a Pullman Daemon?
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:55 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Brought to mind Alan Hovhanessʻs evocative miniature suite Fred the Cat. In a handful of small motives and unhurried melody, the life of a much beloved cat glides on as a poignant soundtrack. Listening to the last minuteʻs slowly ascending notes, I have a very hard time controlling my emotions.
posted by Droll Lord at 5:13 PM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Droll Lord at 5:13 PM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well, this threw me. When she wrote about living in Southern California, I went to consult her Wikipedia page. That was a bit shocking since she is talking about the small town where my parents live. In fact, she lives (or lived) only a few blocks away. I know what park she is talking about. Now I will have to ask my parents if they remember a Japanese lady and her German Shepherd!
I love Ito's writing. She is very honest about herself. The video game detail at the end is a window into how she is struggling, like all of us do, with how you feel and how you are supposed to feel. In another essay she writes about being in Japan and deciding not to come back for her husband's life-or-death open heart surgery and what led to that decision and, in the end, makes her husband promise to never, ever bring it up in the future.
posted by vacapinta at 1:38 AM on February 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
I love Ito's writing. She is very honest about herself. The video game detail at the end is a window into how she is struggling, like all of us do, with how you feel and how you are supposed to feel. In another essay she writes about being in Japan and deciding not to come back for her husband's life-or-death open heart surgery and what led to that decision and, in the end, makes her husband promise to never, ever bring it up in the future.
posted by vacapinta at 1:38 AM on February 9, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by y2karl at 1:35 PM on February 8, 2023 [8 favorites]