Friday, November 4, 2011

A LAMENTATION IN FIVE HAIKU


At 2:45 pm on Friday March 11th 2011, an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred 370 km north east of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, causing seismic damage to many north-eastern towns and cities. It was followed quickly by a 10 metre high tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people.


Ocean
Sea gods awake, stretch,
tear off their garments of sleep,
tread hard on the earth.


Sendai
Twin towers of water,
fire, crash on my children, wife.
No mercy is shown.


Minamisanriku
Huge waves toss trucks, ships
high and then dump them, bodies
raped in my rice fields.


Fukushima
Beneath the façade
lies fear of the utmost kind,
fear of the atom.


Me
What life shall I live?
My heart beats, for what? I am
a fish stuck in mud.

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