
Here we want to share from time to time some words, sounds, images and thoughts about the meaning and mystery of sleep, around the world and through the ages.
Yume — Made For Dreaming
Warabigami by Natsukawa Rimi
From the inspirational source of Yume comes the soulful of Okinawan lullaby, Warabigami.
天からの恵み 受けてこの地球(ほし)に
生まれたる我が子 祈り込め育て
イラヨーヘイ イラヨーホイ
イラヨー 愛(かな)し思産子(うみなしぐゎ
泣くなよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
太陽(てぃだ)の光受けて
ゆういりよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
健やかに 育て
暑き夏の日は 涼風を送り
寒き冬来れば この胸に抱いて
イラヨーヘイ イラヨーホイ
イラヨー 愛(かな)し思産子(うみなしぐゎ)
泣くなよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
月の光浴びて
ゆういりよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
健やかに 眠れ
嵐吹きすさむ 渡るこの浮世
母の祈り込め 永遠(とわ)の花咲かそ
イラヨーヘイ イラヨーホイ
イラヨー 愛(かな)し思産子(うみなしぐゎ)
泣くなよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
天の光受けて
ゆういりよーや ヘイヨー ヘイヨー
天高く 育て
A gift from heaven to this world,
You are born, my baby, I will watch over you.
Irayo hei, irayo hoi,
Darling child.
Don’t you cry, heiyo heiyo,
May the sun shine on you,
And may you be worthy and strong.
When summer comes,
I will send you cool breezes.
And in winter’s cold,
I will keep you warm.
Irayo hei, irayo hoi,
Darling child.
Don’t you cry, heiyo heiyo,
I will ask the moon to light your way
And for you to grow into goodness and sweetness
As you take your place in the world.
Stormy winds may blow
As you journey and learn.
I will walk with you as long as I can,
to shelter you from the storm
Until you may bloom on your own,
Darling child.
Irayo hei, irayo hoi.
Don’t you cry, heiyo heiyo.
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
A romantic take on the time between sleep and awakening from ancient Persia:
From the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
(as translated in the 1st Edition by Edward Fitzgerald, 1859)
The Sultan’s Turret with a Shaft of Light.
Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan’s Turret in a Noose of Light.
Dreaming when Dawn’s Left Hand was in the Sky
I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,
“Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup
Before Life’s Liquor in its Cup be dry.”