»
Archives
»
Open Poetry #4
»
Friends & Enemies (edited)
| Open Poetry #4 |
|
Friends & Enemies (edited) |
|
|
Willem Member
since 1999-11-18
Posts 139Inverness, FL, USA |
FRIENDS AND ENEMIES There was a time, oh, many years ago, when I could only see all Japanese as bitter enemies and Tokio as the origin of cowardly crime... There was the day when news came seeping through the barbed wire fence around the camp that they had bombed the little town where my beloved, my one and only lived... There were the blows, the kicks, the curses, verbal insults I had to take, as slave of Dai Nippon. But, as the years passed by, I learned to look beyond those things, discovering tokens of compassion.. A youthful sailor on the ship which was to carry us as prisoners to Japan, in view of jeering shipmates, volunteered to fill some hundred rusty canteen cans with cool, fresh water for us, his enemies, parched from a march in blistering heat... Although to them, we were the murderers that bombed their cities, killed their kin, some did what Christ us and them to do, which was to love our enemies, so, athe risk of punishment, derision, they tried to make our lot more bearable... My good old foreman Hancho-san paid dearly for his treacherous act of getting us some high-C peppers: a spying civil guardsman caught him and had him beaten up so badly that he, for days, could barely walk... Our camp commander, captain X, a cruel man, was, somehow, married to a lovely Nisei girl who treated us, behind her husband's back, to tasty treats of cake and tea for babysitting Sara-san, her only child. Dear God, what has become of them? The great atrocity at Pearl Harbor was screaming for revenge, which took a long time coming, but when it came, Hiroshima and Nagasaki turned into lakes of molten glass and metal and deadly dust. And human tears... But when our enemies became our friends, hate turned into respect and traveling bred understanding, consolidating peace and mutual help. But we should know that Satan will not cease to jar our memories, lest we forget... While many preachers of goodwill keep telling us we should forgive, forget, we stubbornly reverse that order, saying, "We must forget before we can forgive!" No, first forgive, and you will find: forgetting has become irrelevant... by Willem |
||
| © Copyright 1999 Willem - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Elizabeth Santos Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269Pennsylvania |
What a wonderful poem. The word "enemy", however is not in my vocabulary Elizabeth |
||
|
Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
Very fine work...I liked this......(And Nan, the moderator, edits my stuff all the time, and I, to this day, don't know why?) ...Do NOT... Nuh-Uh... I'm being falsely accused - Toerag's just mad that I make him tie that "rag" around his toe just in case he needs to muzzle himself....  [This message has been edited by Toerag (edited 11-19-1999).] [This message has been edited by Nan (edited 11-20-1999).] |
||
|
hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Willem....I will reply to this in more detail in Critical, but it's wonderful. ------------------ Alis volat propriis (She flies with her own wings) |
||
|
Pepper Member Elite
since 1999-08-19
Posts 3079Southern Florida |
Very powerful Willem Enjoyed the read ------------------ A soul that writes from the heart and shares it, truly gives a gift extraordinaire! |
||
|
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
Willem I'm very happy to see a poet with such experience to share posting here among us. This is quite a poignant piece of work. May we never forget the lessons learned from our history.... Thanks for sharing them, Willem Nancy |
||
|
U K Hero Member
since 1999-08-08
Posts 266England |
A lot of effort and feeling placed here well done sir. |
||
|
Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
Excellent, Willem. Great last lines! How true! I never looked at it in that light before! ------------------ Denise |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||