Tuesday, February 22, 2011

When The Earth Opens Up


The Japanese people say
“If you have beloved children
Send them on a journey”
We teachers say to them
“To improve their English
Send them on a journey”
Growing independent children say
“We need to find ourselves
Send us on a journey”
But when the earth opens up
In a faraway land
There is nothing sadder
Than never seeing their faces again

In truth, these trembling isles
Have had their share of loss
From Kobe, to Edo, to Uriyujima
When the earth opens up
In the land of your birth
The natural catastrophe
Draws people together
Bends their backs in rebuilding
But when the earth opens
In a faraway foreign land
People are torn asunder
In unnatural catastrophe
Lives can not be so swiftly rebuilt

There can be nothing than sadder
Than never seeing those faces again

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