I never come to Edinburgh without going up to Arthur’s Seat. I got up early in this morning and stood on the top of this mountain before clouds came. This mountain fascinating my wife last year appeared in my newest book “The Long Journey.” When I wrote the poem two years ago, a strong and icy wind blew around the top. This year too. I intended to protect my low back but I chose a rugged mountain path with bushes and cliffs. I arrived on the road through somehow, I came across a man who is a director of Edinburgh Lighting and Sound School. And as it happens, he told me that he has a poet daughter—she obtained her Ph.D. properly. We thanked this strange meeting and wonderful short conversation each other and separated. I’m going to go to London for a one-night stay from tomorrow. After that, I come back to Edinburgh on Friday night and finally leave here on Saturday noon.

 

エディンバラへ来るたびに必ず向かう「Arthur’s Seat」。帰国まで残り4日と迫る今日、雲がやってくる前にと、早起きして登ってきた。昨年同行した妻をも魅了した、この山。最新刊『長い旅』にも登場する。2年前にその詩を書いたときと同じように、頂上付近の強風は今日も、吹きつけ、巻き上がり、厳しかった。腰を庇って柔らかい道を選んだのに、気づくと薮と崖のルートに入ってしまい、やっとの思いで道路に出ると、娘が詩人だ（こちらは博士号をちゃんと取得されている）という照明と音響の学校長に出会った。奇妙な遭遇と短くも楽しい会話に感謝しあって、別れた。明日から1泊2日で、ロンドンへ行く。金曜の夜に帰ってきたら、土曜には帰国だ。