Three years ago this spring, Japan was hit with a devestating tsunami. Death and destruction of course followed, and the world watched. The Japanese people rallied and set an example of courage and fortitude as they faced the aftermath of this tsunami. Today, the scars still remain and there are areas in the North East Japan where it is a stripped no-man’s land. Of course the radiation from the reactors were a big part of this, but the waters came inland over a mile and took people, buildings, etc. mostly back into the sea. The death toll was horrendous. Today, Japan is still recovering, but these are a strong people and look towards the future with hope.
I remember my own sorrow upon learning about the tsunami. Poetry was the only way I could answer the flood of my own feelings. It is so little enough, but the only way I had.
Lady Nyo
–
THREE POEMS UPON VIEWING THE MOON LAST NIGHT
1.
The moon tonight
Blood orange orb
Duenna of the cosmos
Looms in a velvet sky.
Slipping her moorings
She floats closer to earth
A commanding presence
Creating wonderment beneath
And pulling our eyes to Heaven.
–
2.
Is there a moon viewing party
In Japan tonight?
Destruction, sorrow
Covers the land,
Despair, loss
Regulates the heart.
Perhaps the moon presence
Is of little interest
And less comfort.
Perhaps sorrow goes too deep
To raise eyes above the graves.
Yet,
Her gleam falls upon all
A compassionate blanketing
Of the Earth,
Softening the soiled,
Ravaged landscape,
A beacon of promise
Of the return to life,
Beauty to nature.
—————————————————————–
3.
Two weeks and the cherry blossoms
Would have opened in Sendai.
Beautiful clouds of scented prayers
Falling upon upturned faces,
The eternal promise of hope for the earth,
Swept out to sea
With a good part of humanity.
I will sit beneath the moon tonight
Listening to frogs sing,
An owl in the woods
The birds settling in the dark—
My cherry tree is blooming
A small cloud of satin blossom–
I will count falling petals,
And offer these up as prayers.
Jane Kohut-Bartels,
Copyrighted 2011-2014
Tags: fortitude, Jane Kohut-Bartels, Japan, Japanese people, Lady Nyo, poetry, radiation, recovery, Spring, Three years since this tragedy, Tsunami, Where is Japan now in its recovery?
March 24, 2014 at 12:25 pm
so beautiful. Duenna of the cosmos. amazing poem. xo
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March 24, 2014 at 1:29 pm
Hi CS….thank you for reading. Such a sad event, and still so.
I am reminded of a favorite Japanese haiku-ist:
“This world of dew is a world of dew, and yet, and yet.”
Kobayashi Issa 1763-1828
Hugs, Jane
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March 27, 2014 at 9:40 pm
It is such a sad event, like this:
I will count falling petals,
And offer these up as prayers.
xxTR
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March 28, 2014 at 3:13 am
Thank you, TR. It is still such a sad event, and not made better by the behavior of some of the government officials.
Thank you for reading and your comment.
Hugs, Jane
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