For two departed friends

For Aunt V., in loving memory of her friends

When you sleep,

and sleep you shall –

at the dying of day –

remember us.

Remember

the way

we waited,

for your loving hands,

the way

we curled up on the floor

and kept you company

in the stormy fray.

Remember

years from now,

our loopy ways,

our ever so slight waddle

and the joy we showed

just for you –

and you above all.

For now we rest,

as the day must fall

and into the light

we fade away,

into the light

we fade away.

Masaki Kobayashi's nightmare

This garden

by the sea

has a temple in it.

Overhead, a

single

white cloud.

Pure light

pouring down;

Trees lit

with drops

of rain.

In this temple,

a manuscript.

A parchment of old,

worn characters

telling of battles past,

with ash on it.

Stories tell of the clash

of ships

and the end of

an Emperor.

The shoreline

is littered with crabs

(they say)

that bear the faces

of the warring dead.

Can you see their ghosts

in the thick of night?

No matter.

March is a cruel month.

The salt of ocean

bears the trace

of radioactive waste

for years to come.

Kaddish for Fukushima

Sing a Kaddish

let it rise and swirl...

over the blue grass

and the apples,

the meadows and the fields

Overhead, whirling drops

of Hassid rain

and water everywhere

salt pouring into wounds

oceans severed

and sunless seas:

it is time to sing the

Kaddish

for this unborn world...

I called this home once;

a western wind blew through

the windows of a wooden house

a small fire lit

and warmth inside;

sun outdoors when the day

was high

and green, green fields

ever sprawling trees

and ever crisp

the moonlit air...

And now? Sing the Kaddish

let it rise and swirl

amidst the smoke of battle;

endless repetition

and flight, tears –

and laughter, too!

In this, the field in which

I died.

Sleep

Eyes are closing…
Spirit drifting and
peaceful waves
of the dear departed
on holy wings of fortune,
take me on that downward journey
into the land of rest…
Temperature falling
and heartbeat slowing;
Sync me in to the global verse
where light and words
are from…
Catch me brother sleep
for when I fall
I will know no
landing
till morning sun.