Survivors And Inheritors
Caves, like palaces,
hotels, churches
(and shoes) ,
outlive their tenants.
Tigers came and filled the caves
with snarling and roaring.
After the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima,
more than a hundred Japanese soldiers retreated here.
Most fell on their swords in accordance with custom,
grasping the hilts with both hands,
pulling and falling into an exploding sphere of pain.
The rest cut open their stomachs
and died more slowly, but just as surely.
Their flesh was eaten by tigers and dogs,
their bones mingled with those of prehistoric men
and the residue of earlier tiger feasts.
Thirty five years later, Buddhist monks came,
Japanese, Thai and Chinese,
and chanted mantras
for the salvation and reorientation
of the Japanese spirits,
who returned to Japan.
The earthly elements they left behind
were collected by the Japanese Embassy
(who also took the swords) .
The caves were cleaned.
The tigers stopped coming.
Like deserted Indian Temples,
the caves were left to monkeys,
who jabbered and squabbled
with the sounds of enraged chickens.
Dun, as a boy, came here with his friends,
when they were bored with fishing,
to fight the monkeys for their territory.
Now the worn limestone caverns
are empty, silent, echoing,
teeming with images in parallel worlds,
waiting for the next arrivals.
Tonight one old monkey
sits motionless.
poem by Brian Taylor
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Related quotes
Turning Japanese
Ive got your picture
Of me and you
You wrote, I love you.
I love you, too
I sit there staring when theres nothing else to do
Oh, its in color
Your hair is brown
Your eyes are hazel
And soft as clouds
I often kiss you when theres no one else around
Ive got your picture, got your picture
Id like a million of em over myself
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
Youve got me turning up, Im turning down, Im turning in, and Im turning round
Im turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Ive got your picture, Ive got your picture
Id like a million of them over myself
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
Youve got me turning up, Im turning down, Im turning in, and Im turning round
Im turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women
No fun, no sin, no you, no wonder its dark
Everyone around me is a total stranger
Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger
Everyone
Thats why Im turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
(think so, think so, think so)
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
Turning japanese, I think Im turning japanese, I really think so
(think so, think so, think so...)
song performed by by Liz Phair
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Surprise in Japan - A sincere apology
our Japanese teacher
starts her lesson bowing to us
and apologises for the war
I was rather surprised this 30's something Japanese teacher apologised for the role Japanese played in the second world war
in the Asia Pacific. All the students in this Japanese school in Ichikawa Japan were from Asia particularly China, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Many Japanese never felt sorry about the ruthlessness they unleashed on their neighbours but there are some who knew of the real situations and are ready to apologise when occasions permits it.
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Knife
Can I explain this to you? Your eyes
are entrances the mouths of caves
I issue from wonderful interiors
upon a blessed sea and a fine day,
from inside these caves I look and dream.
Your hair explicable as a waterfall
in some black liquid cooled by legend
fell across my thought in a moment
became a garment I am naked without
lines drawn across through morning and evening.
And in your body each minute I died
moving your thigh could disinter me
from a grave in a distant city:
your breasts deserted by cloth, clothed in twilight
filled me with tears, sweet cups of flesh.
Yes, to touch two fingers made us worlds
stars, waters, promontories, chaos
swooning in elements without form or time
come down through long seas among sea marvels
embracing like survivors in our islands.
This I think happened to us together
though now no shadow of it flickers in your hands
your eyes look down on ordinary streets
If I talk to you I might be a bird
with a message, a dead man, a photograph.
poem by Keith Douglas
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They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back, so we sunk her ourselves so the Japanese wouldn't get it. We didn't want the Japanese to get it intact.
quote by Barney Ross
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dark Forests
Dark forests...Northern...Sourthern Mountains,
Fierce tigers circle around the villages in broad daylight.
...To The red dawn of twilight
The skies shine bright
Protecting what is theirs
In the magic of the night
The tigers roam everywhere taking lives for food.
The Majesty of the tigers power,
The prey dare not make a sound.
The new kin tiger sprout every year
In the valleys low.
Male and female tigers come up and down the mountains in large groups.
There is a village near the tigers’ dens in the valley,
Where tigers often come and eat the villagers’ brown calves.
Rich young men dare not shoot the arrows at the tigers.
The Majesty of the Tiger lives forever
The Majesty of the Tiger
They only pretend to check for the tigers’ tracks in the forests.
poem by Peter LeBuhn
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Honor And Courage
In Japan, they write on rice paper,
In America, we write on the sides of buildings.
In Japan they honor their elders,
In America, we rob them on buses,
And abuse them.
In Japan there is great love for their country.
In America, people are refusing to stand,
For the national anthem.
In Japan, men are volunteering to die,
Without a second thought,
To give up their lives,
To save their fellow citizens.
Oh yes, you'll say, the Japanese are great,
At dying, at suicide missions.
But is that the point?
Shouldn't the point be,
The Japanese love their homeland,
The Japanese love their own people,
The Japanese love their way of life,
The Japanese love their traditions,
Love, honor, respect, courage,
Nobody writes on Japanese walls.
Offenders are quickly and severely dealt with.
Wouldn't you volunteer also?
Maybe not.
Honor, and courage,
Seem to be,
In short supply,
Stateside.
3/26/11 Alton Texas
poem by Juan Olivarez
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If you have only two pennies left in the world, with the first penny, you should buy rice to feed your family. With the second penny, say the wise Japanese, you should buy a lily. The Japanese understand the importance of dreaming...
A monkey makes fun of the red behinds of his fellow monkeys.
Brides and mothers-in-law are like dogs and monkeys.
The causes of the China Incident were the exclusion and insult of Japan throughout China, the exclusion of Japanese goods, the persecution of Japanese residents in China, and the illegal violation of Japanese rights.
quote by Hideki Tojo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Fight Back, “The Land Of The Rising Sun”
A combined attack of a major earthquake and tsunami – for any other country it would have been a major blow
But the country in question is Japan, which is known for not letting any disaster make its morale low.
“The Land Of The Rising Sun”, Japan managed to stand up from the shambles of Hiroshima bombing
It is a strong-willed nation, for which fighting back a disaster with grit is not a new thing.
History bears the proof of the determination and courage that the Japanese community personifies
And there is hardly any doubt that the great country will overcome the present disaster with aplomb and ease.
The entire world’s sympathy, love and wishes are with you - our beloved Japanese friends, brothers and sisters
Fight back with your natural courage, by displaying for the umpteenth time the indomitable spirit of the Japanese mass.
Your ancestors faced Hiroshima bombing, and constructed a new Japan from the rubble of that devastation
Repeat that valour of your ancestors, and prove once again the resilience and buoyancy of your great nation.
(I wrote this poem on 14th March 2011 following the devastating Tsunami and earthquake in Japan that shook the world) .
Chinese New Year (Tiger Year Living Tiger Life)
When a tiger kills a man
it is called ferocity
without any mercy.
When a man kills a tiger
it is called hunting
in which he takes pride and boasting.
For Chinese people, tiger symbolises luck.
Right! the tiger products bring a big buck.
Chinese people think the tiger year will prosper.
But the tigers will have more suffer.
The number of tiger is dwindling,
they are near extinction.
Leave the Tigers alone in the Wood,
so that they can have many tigresses in good mood.
Take Me Away
(l. stansfield/aska)
How much hurt can we take
When its cold outside all I can do is hide and pray for better times
Oh how I need a friend to wipe the tears from my eyes
Love is hard to find in somewhere so unkind
When its been left here behind
There is a place somewhere and if youll lead me there
Then we can open our eyes
Chorus
So take me away
So far, so far away
Oh, wont you take me to a better day
Take me away
(japanese lyric)
Oh, take me away
(japanese lyric)
Its easy just hold me in your arms
cause when the world is upside down
We can bring it round
How much hurt can we take
How much hurt can we take
It seems that everywhere although we tried to care
Were just not taking the time
When all we communicate is full of greed and hate
Its time to open our eyes
Chorus
(japanese lyric)
We can bring it round
(japanese lyric)
We can bring it round
(japanese lyric)
There is a place somewhere and if you lead me there
Then we can open our eyes
Then we can open our eyes
(repeat chorus to fade out)
song performed by by Lisa Stansfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Tale of Bhimbetka
Bhim-bait-ka
Bheem sat on these rocks
the name is derived from
Sanskrit epic Mahabharata
largest collection of prehistoric art
discovered and explored
by Dr.V.S.Wakankar
a great archaeologist
from train he noticed caves
dotting the hills in distance
he cut through deep forest
climbed up to the caves
surrounded by northern fringe
of the Vindhyan ranges
lies 46 km south of Bhopal
in State of Madhya Pradesh
continuous habitation
from Early Stone Age
biggest repository
of Indian prehistoric art
one of earliest dwellings
of human beings
will take you back
to 35,000 years old history
prehistoric caves
fascinating paintings
to Paleolithic times
a cultural sequences
stone floors
hand-axes
hard quartz
tiny needles
cleavers, scrapers
stone hand mills
colored earth
called Ochre
a woman with a child
household chores
hunt documentation
raid during warfare
the Stone Age artists
painted their hopes, fears
weaving an enchantment
that still ensnares us
weather worn walls
over these caves
display great vitality
and narrative skill
experience the journey
back to Stone Age Man
move around gently
examine surroundings
each boulder
every overhanging rocks
speaks and describes
the magical history
rocky terrain
dense forest
craggy cliffs
over 600 rock shelters
vivid, panoramic detail
paintings in over 500 caves
depict the life and activity
prehistoric cave dwellers
hunting
dancing
music
horse riders
elephant riders
animals fighting
honey collection
bodies decoration
bison
tigers
lions
wild boar
antelopes
dogs
lizards
bulls
elephants
horses
crocodiles
rhin oceros
weapons
birds
musical instruments
pregnant women
burial
drinking
figures of Yakshas
men carrying dead animals
the tree gods
magical sky chariots
tunic like dresses
the existence of scripts
popular religious
ritual symbols
disguises, masking
household scenes
red
white
green
yellow
mixture of colors, soft red stone
manganese, hematite,
wooden coal, animal’s fat
extracts of leaves
poem by Ahmad Shiddiqi
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It's Getting Dark
it's getting dark and the darkness
the darkness thickens no light
it's getting close and the closures
pick remnants of steps apart
it's getting to the caves and the caves
the caves are mind devoured
it's getting to the end and the end
no beginning has discovered
it's getting me trapped and the rats
they lick their wounds - just yelled
it's getting me known in sets
elements I've been expelled
it's getting me centered on axis
on a null an' an x an' y
plus minus zero life taxes
and a VAT tearing the sky
apart apart apart it's getting dark apart
it thickens no light apart
it's getting close apart
pick remnants of steps apart
the caves and minds apart
beginning the end apart
the traps and rats apart
elements sets apart
life and its taxes apart
on a null an' an x an' y
watch the words daily die
poem by Miroslava Odalovic
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Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names.
If these assets were set up as a revolving fund with which Japan could import raw materials for its industries, Japanese exports could again enter the channels of world trade-and Japanese workers would have employment and something to eat.
quote by James Forrestal
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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When you look at Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its relationship with nature. You can actually live in a harmonious, close contact with nature - this very unique to Japan.
quote by Tadao Ando
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Responsibility In The Workforce
What is the work ethic
of Japanese
white-collar employees?
there are three
important components
to the work ethic
loyalty to company
a commitment to quality
peer group bonding
What do the Japanese
feel about their co-workers
and their company?
the Japanese feel
great responsibility
toward company
and co-workers
What moral attitude
are Japanese
employees taught?
Japanese employees
are taught a moral
to work in groups
to think of themselves
as part of a family
What is the Japanese
attitude to failure
in the workforce?
the white-collar executive
is extremely diligent
knowing that failure
or any errors affects
other fellow employees
What is the Japanese
attitude to sharing
profit in the workforce?
all rewards
are group oriented
which places
greater responsibility
on individual
performance.
What is the foundation
of modern business
relationships in Japan?
to develop to maintain
long-term relationships
within one's peer group
is the company goal
this system creates
social professional
networks representing
spiritual foundation in
business relationships
What is the Japanese
attitude to quality
in the workforce?
a Japanese commitment
to quality has rightfully
earned Japanese products
an esteemed reputation
How do Japanese workers
support the continued success
of the company they work for?
Japanese employees put
their best efforts into the
success of their company
Japanese employees give
a wholehearted allegiance
to employer and company
company family are inseparable
within harmony of group society
What is the future of Japanese technology?
All systems are on line and operational.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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The Light In The Tigers Eyes
Sometime I cannot imagine the difference
Between you and the blackest night
You know those nights when only tigers stalk
And lie waiting for the sound of your breath
The faintest reflecting backlight is in their eyes
So I can only say one thing in your defence
You have laid with tigers
You have their scent
You know how they stalk and what they sense
I do not
And so I am terrified to lay in the thicket
And wait
---------
Have you seen a tigers foot
Stare at it soft and silent
Able to tread with no sound
On the leaf strewn floor of its jungleI
It can kill quickly without fuss and song
Except of course for its victims
Noises of dying
On a dark night I am scared
Of you in the same way
You with that tigers breath
And stealth that terrifies me so
Please I will beg
Please don't
---------
Growls snarls and ferocity
Are just conversation
To you and the tiger
Your cigar at the end of dinner
Your confidence in terrifying
The bridle you have on me
My fear is the peg
Your look is the rope
Attached to my collar
Staking me out
To wait
In the silenced black night
To wait
For you and the tiger
To pounce
poem by Geoffrey Fafard
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