Sendai earthquake ...
the darkness pierced
only by flashlights
At night, I toss and turn, worrying about the long-term health risks for Japan and its neighbors. My homeland, Taiwan, is one of the closest.
Fukushima at dawn --
one vending machine
still glowing
I remember during the late 1990s at the height of the anti-nuclear movement in Taiwan, someone handed me a flyer on the street. It listed important instructions on how to survive a nuclear disaster. The last one on the list said: "When driving away in the rescue convoy, please remember to look back, because that will be your last sight of Taipei."
radioactive scare
this a world of dew
and yet ...
Notes:
1 In 1544, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it "Ilha Formosa," which means “Beautiful Island.” Taipei is its capital.
2 This poem is a revision of Ilha Formosa?, which was first published in Sketchbook, 6:3, May/June 2011
