Day469【Self】

A photo-poetic artist who records inner dialogue through photography and words. In the ongoing series “NZPHOTOGRAPH & naozo,” he explores the relationship between his present self “naozo” and his future self “NZ.”

NZPHOTOGRAPH&naozo

Day469【Self】

DEAR naozo

You do not exist

　

The self of yesterday

is not carried into today

　

Only when you touch

do you realize a hand was there

　

With each rising scent

the outline of a nose appears

　

In the instant you notice a sound

ears begin to gather the world

　

You were never there from the beginning

Each contact with the world

weaves you, belatedly, into being

　

This chain of delay

is what people call “self”

　

But it is not fixed

　

It collapses

unravels

and is woven again

　

It feels like the same hand touches

yet yesterday’s you is gone

　

It feels like the same sound is heard

yet the depth of hearing has changed

　

It feels like the same scene is seen

yet the one who sees is renewed

　

You are not accumulation

nor repetition

　

Each moment

you are born for the first time

　

So

　

You do not exist

　

And yet

　

to the extent you touch

to the extent you notice

to the extent you receive

　

you appear anew, each time

　

There is no returning

there was never a place to return to

There is only

this ever-generating present

from NZ

This story is a work of fiction. Except for the named individuals, all elements are products of imagination. The boundary between reality and fiction is intentionally ambiguous, and its interpretation is left to the reader.