So here it is: I miss Japan. I miss it and cry for it because of the unimaginable suffering of the bereaved and displaced. I know this same sad scenario has played out many times over the past years in different countries, images of people wandering the streets without homes or missing family, and it's always been terrible to see, but this is different. These people feel like my long lost relatives. I lived in small villages by the ocean. Those destroyed houses you see on the news, I stayed in any number of ones just like them all my young life. They are my people too, and I grieve for them and pray for them. And I'm proud of them. I see articles about how no one is looting, how desperate people are still lining up for food & water, patiently; how hundreds of men are basically sacrificing their lives at the nuclear power plants to try and save everyone else, and I think, yes, those are my people too, I'm proud to say that I was born there.
May my family there be safe and fed and warm, may everyone else be as well, and may God be with those who lost so much. And mostly, may it all end well and heal, not least so that I can take my little family back to the place that gave me so much and show them all about where Mommy came from.
I am posting a poem that I wrote long ago, while I still lived there, about Japan. (Thanks, Nikki, for digging it up for me!) It's poor poetry, but I happen to like this one almost best of all, because I said what I came to say in it. If you don't speak Japanese and want to know what the weird words mean, I included a glossary at the bottom. Enjoy.
My Japan:
Weeping willow, tall and fair
Woodland fern, and maidenhair.
Aged Bonsai, twisted limb
Greenest bud on newest stem;
Woodland fern, and maidenhair.
Aged Bonsai, twisted limb
Greenest bud on newest stem;
Orange skies at close of day,
Semis sing the night away.
Morning glories, fading fast
Small blue buds and spider grass.
Bamboo forest, small and proud
Long brown leaves, strewn on the ground.
Little sisters run & chase;
Grass stained shorts, a purple face.
Swinging high, swinging low
This is the way the summers go.
I see the moon, the moon sees me;
Homeward walk, outlined tree;
Birthday candles, hanabi,
Cool yukata, matsuri.
Glowing lanterns, strung on high,
Dancing platforms tower by.
Catch a goldfish; catch him twice;
Pink and green and yellow ice.
"Gaijin da!" "This is a pen";
Ice-cream for a hundred yen.
Kiokabe, stifling heat,
Tickling fan and crispy sheet.
Yellow nightlight, shoji door,
Bean bag pillow on the floor.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
True contentment, joy complete.
Father singing sweet and low,
This is the way the summers go.
Glossary for those who don't speak Japanese:
Semis: cicadas
Hanabi: fireworks
Yukata: summer kimono
Matsuri: festival
"Gaijin da!": "It's a foreigner"
Kiyokabe: traditional wall covering in older Japanese homes
Shoji doors: rice paper doors
7 comments:
Lovely & touching. Both your write up & the poem. I live here still Suzy, but I don't think I even realized how much this place is a part of my past & person. Thank you for your prayers & thots
Suz, I was contemplating how to put my feelings for Japan into words and reading your post, I think you did it for me. I have prayed for each country that has experienced disasters, but this time I feel like it happened to MY country, just like you expressed.I also had not realized just how much Japan still means to me.
Love the poem. I will never forget the many happy times we had in that summer.
This has always been my favorite out of all of your poems. So beautifully written, and expresses everything that is good that I remember of Japan.
It makes my heart hurt, thinking of the dear Japanese people who have lost everything. God be with them.
suzy, would you be opposed to me sharing this poem on my FB? (with or without credit to you of course) It really is soo beautiful & embodies a lot of what I love @ Japan too. If not I understand completely
Al, thank you..what a nice thing to ask. Yes, of course, you can put it on your FB if you like. I won't object if you put my name on it either...:)Thanks for all the nice things you guys said, everyone. God bless Japan.
You made me smile,
when I cried,
You gave me peace,
Deep down inside,
You gave me love,
I just can't hide,
And most of all you give me life...
When I die..
XXXXXXX I was touched by your poem, honey. Made me cry. Thanks. Please pray that we can be a help in some way to these poor people. Muah
Post a Comment