Intimacy begins
with acknowledging curiosity
about someone other than your self.
with acknowledging curiosity
about someone other than your self.
She walks to me a stranger
with intent to connect,
with intent to connect,
she never takes her eyes off mine
for one second.
for one second.
There is so much depth in her eyes,
I can see thousands in life and death,
I can see thousands in life and death,
all the souls in her heart,
all whom she met in her life –
all whom she met in her life –
the totality of her experience
surrounds us in this moment.
surrounds us in this moment.
Hiroshima blinks her eyes
and tightens her grasp of my hand,
and tightens her grasp of my hand,
my throat tightens its grip on my breath
and the blood flow to my heart.
and the blood flow to my heart.
Moved, I kiss her hand
so she knows I know
the hopes of a woman –
so she knows I know
the hopes of a woman –
that love and connection
are never too late
are never too late
when expressed honestly
with trust from the heart.
with trust from the heart.
People walk by embarrassed
by the open display
of raw human emotion.
by the open display
of raw human emotion.
I understand their faces,
but not their words.
but not their words.
I am embarrassed
to let go of her saged hands,
in her time of need –
to let go of her saged hands,
in her time of need –
to seemly reject her
outreach for connection.
outreach for connection.
She created the emotional strength
to move from her comfort zone,
to move from her comfort zone,
to stretch out her elderly boundaries
and break her aged limitations - so
and break her aged limitations - so
I decide to meet her challenge
to create emotional strength,
to create emotional strength,
to match her feelings,
stretch, to freely return
what she freely gifts me.
stretch, to freely return
what she freely gifts me.
We both know it is time
to be more than we are separately,
to be more than we are separately,
so I gently grasp her hands
tighter to unite our vision to connect.
tighter to unite our vision to connect.
Now I am the age
she was during the destruction,
she was during the destruction,
later I will be the age
she currently is consecrating -
she currently is consecrating -
renewed by our combining
strength and purpose,
I pledge to carry the force
of her stream of life forward,
to forever flow.
strength and purpose,
I pledge to carry the force
of her stream of life forward,
to forever flow.
A tear falls
as graceful
as an individual
snowflake glides
as graceful
as an individual
snowflake glides
to meet and blend
with all the other
snowflakes
on life's mountaintop.
with all the other
snowflakes
on life's mountaintop.
I relax my hold of her hand,
as an expression
of my individual snowflake,
as an expression
of my individual snowflake,
since not a single tear
falls from my eyes,
to blend with her
already fallen snow.
falls from my eyes,
to blend with her
already fallen snow.
Hiroshima rains down tears,
for me to share,
as I stand
under her umbrella of hope.
for me to share,
as I stand
under her umbrella of hope.
She came to me
with grasped hands,
then unclasped hands,
only to grasp mine.
with grasped hands,
then unclasped hands,
only to grasp mine.
She spoke to me in Japanese,
a language I do not understand –
a language I do not understand –
but I remember her being,
here, now, then and thereafter,
I know she shared
her soulful eternity in Emotion,
a language I do understand.
here, now, then and thereafter,
I know she shared
her soulful eternity in Emotion,
a language I do understand.
This saged lady
crying in front of me
grows older
crying in front of me
grows older
with each moment passing
bringing yet another tear.
bringing yet another tear.
She will die soon
and take with her the events –
and take with her the events –
her events she personally witnessed,
not recorded in any history books -
not recorded in any history books -
too personal
to be etched on paper history,
to be etched on paper history,
her testament of sleepless nights
and legacies vivid with emotion
pass with her.
and legacies vivid with emotion
pass with her.
We lose something
every time
someone dies on this planet,
every time
someone dies on this planet,
we lose
a little bit of emotion
from the collective pool of feelings.
I wander around the dead
and naked land of Hiroshima.
a little bit of emotion
from the collective pool of feelings.
I wander around the dead
and naked land of Hiroshima.
The artists have done their best
to do a make over of this land,
to do a make over of this land,
into a sacred space
for the pursuit and worship of peace.
for the pursuit and worship of peace.
It is quiet,
petrified from the last bit of noise and fury
petrified from the last bit of noise and fury
when angels lost some feathers
from the sky downward descending.
from the sky downward descending.
Some of us fly,
some of us club down our own wings,
some of us club down our own wings,
but human nature thrives
in air as well as on earth.
in air as well as on earth.
I photograph the doves
as they fly towards me
as they fly towards me
their wings span time,
distance, drama and trauma.
distance, drama and trauma.
Doves fly above my
outstretched hands
in circles and spirals –
outstretched hands
in circles and spirals –
they grace the air
with details of their elegance -
elegant historical flights.
with details of their elegance -
elegant historical flights.
Mobile sculptures
that embody grace,
birds fly in the formation
that embody grace,
birds fly in the formation
of one large family,
united by inheritance,
as emissaries of peace.
united by inheritance,
as emissaries of peace.
Wings brush the tangles
from my world-worn hair,
leaving feathers as bookmarks,
from my world-worn hair,
leaving feathers as bookmarks,
time-holders to save their place,
as they read my thoughts.
as they read my thoughts.
I pull a feather from my hair
and read in it the collective memory of birds.
and read in it the collective memory of birds.
I watch them fly on wings of history
to show us they survive destruction,
to show us they survive destruction,
only to soar to greater heights –
birds come back
when time has healed
the heart of the Earth.
birds come back
when time has healed
the heart of the Earth.
Some of the birds are malformed,
a new breed emerging
a new breed emerging
surviving to thrive among
the bare dirt ground
and the eloquent shrines.
the bare dirt ground
and the eloquent shrines.
The birds survive
hundreds of years
stronger, not broken –
hundreds of years
stronger, not broken –
their DNA realigned,
re-purposed and re-created –
re-purposed and re-created –
the evolved mutations
of their lives’ time span.
of their lives’ time span.
Feathers fall like snowflakes,
as the birds comfort us
in the shower of their memories.
in the shower of their memories.
I honour the birds’ flight
to create purity and silence.
to create purity and silence.
I watch and learn from the birds,
so I too can create quiet –
so I too can create quiet –
I distance myself
by flying away
from the source of the noise.
by flying away
from the source of the noise.
Everything diminishes
in the zone of flight;
in the zone of flight;
tears, snowflakes, feathers
all blend into white noise of pure light.
all blend into white noise of pure light.
My external world unfolds into peace,
as my internal world holds harmony.
as my internal world holds harmony.
I remember the elder lady of Hiroshima,
meeting her was not chance.
meeting her was not chance.
She transformed her collateral state of damage
into being a states woman of peace.
into being a states woman of peace.
From her point of view
I had no responsibility in the exchange -
I had no responsibility in the exchange -
Hiroshima is still, simply, feeling,
the effects of atomic creation and destruction.
the effects of atomic creation and destruction.
Hiroshima is crying for us all;
all who are alive, all who died,
all who are alive, all who died,
all yet to be born,
and all of us still
living separate from the whole.
and all of us still
living separate from the whole.
As her final moments approached
she chose to create compassion,
she chose to create compassion,
to forgive and give the wisdom
to regain a state of harmony.
to regain a state of harmony.
By attuning to the forces within herself
that govern her world,
that govern her world,
she created an opportunity
to bring about her own healing,
and ours.
Atom destruction, evaporating emotions
from our collective pool of feelings.
~~ Other People's Fingerprints ~~
Sometime after he left Tibet,
Nawang Khechog wrote and said;
"May All Be Kind To Each Other."
"Peace Through Kindness."
to bring about her own healing,
and ours.
Atom destruction, evaporating emotions
from our collective pool of feelings.
~~ Other People's Fingerprints ~~
Sometime after he left Tibet,
Nawang Khechog wrote and said;
"May All Be Kind To Each Other."
"Peace Through Kindness."
"Roaring With Colour" by Karin Lisa Atkinson
