[Reposted in memorium of the fifth anniversary of the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima - originally posted March 27, 2011]

"The Japanese word Kamikaze is usually translated as "divine wind" (kami is the word for "god", "spirit", or "divinity", and kaze for "wind"). The word kamikaze originated as the name of major typhoons in 1274 and 1281, which dispersed Mongolian invasion fleets." (Source)

Japan: What Will Become of You?

Land of the precise:
tea ceremony, flower arranging,
haiku . . . and cherry blossoms

land of samurai
and daimyo, movie monsters
and dancing robots

you survived WW II nuclear bombs
from Joint Chiefs of Staff of the War Department
bossed by President Truman.

Island of the kamikaze
you set up your nuclear house of cards
in the path of Nature's imperfect storm,

Japan, what will become
of your land of Zen and automobiles,
stock markets and humility,

what becomes of your people,
your soy and sushi and saké,
tempura and noodles?

May your cherry blossoms
feel the divine wind again:
for worse or for better

a wind that connects us all . . .

 

Mankh (Walter E. Harris III) is a frequent guest poet and essayist on Axis of Logic. He is a writer, small press publisher, and Turtle Islander. You can contact him via his literary website

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