Southwest Japan high schoolers recite original poem about peace on anniv. of nuke treaty
(Mainichi Japan)
KUMAMOTO -- High school students in Kumamoto Prefecture who collect signatures for a petition seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons recited a poem in this city on Jan. 22 about peace that one of them wrote, one year from the day that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) -- to which Japan is not a party -- went into effect.
The high schoolers argued that "atomic bombs were made by people, and were dropped on people. That's precisely why they can be eliminated through people's wills."
The author of the poem, "Heiwa no shi" -- literally "poem of peace" -- is Airi Katayama, a third-year student at Kumamoto Shin-Ai Girls' Senior High School. She, along with An Fukuhara, a second year student at Kyushu Gakuin Lutheran High School, and others, have called on people to sign their petition on the streets of the city of Kumamoto, and listened to the experiences of Nagasaki A-bomb survivors. Katayama wrote the poem with the advice of fellow campaigners with the hope of passing down the importance of peace.
"People are forgetful and weak, which is why we repeat mistakes. But this is one thing we must not forget," she said. "And that will is unmistakably born inside every one of us."
(Japanese original by Takehiro Higuchi, Kumamoto Bureau)
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"Poem of Peace"
Peace
A serene state in which there is no fighting or strife
A tranquil condition in which there are no worries or conflict
I now live in peace
My heart dances when I see the beauty of a rainbow across the big sky
My heart relaxes when a drop of the vast ocean wets my foot
My heart melts when I smell the scent of a flower out of nowhere, and illuminated by the moon, I feel the sparse shadows of the trees
It is a peaceful day that I can surrender myself to such nature
The moment that I hear a voice guiding me
I want you to look back on whether you lived that day to its fullest
I want you to remember not to take this time for granted
I want you not to forget about them, about the truth
Seventy-six years ago
All the nature that I loved changed into something else
The big sky and the stars that excited me disappeared into fighter jets and bombs
The vast ocean that moistened my feet was dyed with human blood
The landscape that once soothed my sense of smell and vision became cloudy with the stench of death and changed into a sight of corpses heaped on top of each other
A blast, a heat ray, and the fires that those caused
In one moment, took out
The lights of the precious lives of many
They were all living quiet and peaceful lives, no differently from me
They were living every day single-heartedly and earnestly
They had great expectations for their futures
They treasured their families and friends, cherished nature, and were weaving the threads of their lives
But in the blink of an eye, all that was taken away, destroyed
Just because some are born in a different time, in a different country
Just because of that small difference, they are embroiled in war
They are forced to confront the fear that they may die at any moment, and the pain of losing family
For us, peace is
Vague and difficult to visualize
That's why it's hard to think about peace
But just like it's easy to be grateful for our health
When we catch a cold or suffer an injury
Knowing war can help us see peace
"What is war?" "Who and how are weapons bought and sold?"
"Why does war happen?"
We can use war to talk about a lot of things
If we think not only about what lies just before us, but about today's children, and the children of those children
We start to think not only in terms of country, but in terms of the world
The word peace often comes with words like
"Wish" and "pray"
But I want you to know
Peace is not something you simply wish for, but create
People are forgetful and weak
Which is why we repeat mistakes
But
This is one thing we must not forget
This is one thing we must not repeat
No matter what happens
You must not let this happen not only to yourself
But to anyone else in this world
Atomic bombs were made by people
And were dropped on people
That's precisely why they can be eliminated through people's wills
And that will is unmistakably born
Inside every one of us
I vow
That to stop any more deaths from war or nuclear weapons
And for the sake of children and their children
And people whose physical and mental pain have not been healed
That we will never tolerate war or nuclear weapons
That we will pray together for peace regardless of race
That we will act upon hearing the voices of A-bomb survivors
That we will through our activities, pass down the stories to future generations
That we will not capitulate to obstacles that may stand in the way of nuclear abolition
That we will give our all toward realizing a peaceful world
Our efforts may be humble but are not powerless
These words are what motivate us
And allow us to continue to press ahead, one step at a time from Kumamoto