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PERSPECTIVE
It will soon enough be time again,I am an old clockface on a towerat which no one but the truly boredbother to look, tucked in a cornerof a village half empty, its lifemoved away to places cooler,less stormy. So I sit and watchwhat life remains around me,the few children wishing theycould be elsewhere, some parentswishing…
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HELLO GOODBYE
When I saw you this morningI knew instantly that I hadn’t seen youin more than twenty years,although it is quite possible wehave never met and todaywas the first time my eyesever gazed at your face . I suppose it is lucky thatyou did not recognize mealthough I don’t think I’ve changedall that much in twenty…
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MUSING TOKYO
1 In Asakusaamid the stallsof trinkets and swordswhy do the gaijinall speak German,Italian, Spanish and Swedishand English is reservedto a couple if Nisei. 2 In a small laundromatin Akasakaan old womanclucks and shuffleson wooden sandalspulling kimonosfrom the dryer.My t-shirtsare still damp. 3 In Shibuyathere is a smallstorefront pet shop,its windows fullof cat ryokansome with bedsothers…
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HERE TO THERE
It ran, got me from point Ato point B, often with a fewstarts and stops, alwaysbegrudging, and a ghastlyshade of yellow that helpedexplain why I could afford itin the fist place. The windshield wipers diedperiodically, so I avoidedrain when possibleor accepted a soakedor frozen arm when not. Eventually the topof the carburetor came loosebut Double…
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NYE
As a child, I only wantedto stay up until midnight,actually a bit after that time,to see in the new year. I didn’t need to beat my parents’ party, itwas too loud and the adultsbehaved more like my kidbrother and sister asthe magic moment approached. And it was supposed to bea magical moment, althoughno one could…
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OF DREAMS
I am now of an agewhere I can no longer rememberwhat terrors gripped my sonsin their dreams, causing themto appear beneath our blankets,I relegated to the bed’s edge. Perhaps there were noneand I was destined to bean edge sleeper, the boystaking advantage as a jokeplayed out night after night. I know what dreams nowcan rip…
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SUDDENLY MORTAL
I now struggle to remember just whenmy childhood suddenly ended, whenI became mortal, and the childhood fearswere replaced by those of the real world. It might have been watching the news,the planes at Dover disgorging coffinafter coffin, each neatly flag draped untilthe flag became a symbol only of death. It might have been the first…
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THE WALL
The wall is black granite, highly polished be an unseen hand and the fingers of countless thousands present but each unseen by the others. At first glance you want to count the names, but you lack fingers enough for the task and others are quickly withdrawn as are their eyes. You know where the names…
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A PAINFUL REMINDER
I had it good, I had it easy, I would be the first to admit it, to save you the trouble of reminding me, more by way of illustrating how badly you had it. I’ll concede you had it rough, money always tight, but you never were, never would be a Jewboy although you and…
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AN AVIAN MESSAGE
The birds departed one morning which we believe may be how they express displeasure, although the destruction of the nests and the death of the children by predators may have had something to do with the departure. We wait patiently for their return, the wetland still dry, but we hope with the wet season that…
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an old writer and his words 