Fukushima
Taro Aizu
My hometown, Fukushima
Was turned into a strange town
By the nuclear plant accident.
Earthquake happened,
Tsunami arrived,
The nuclear plant exploded,
Traffic lights went out;
No one left in this town.
I can’t believe
They are contaminated
By cesium winds,
These green, green
Rice fields.
The dosimeters
Hang from their necks
Even when children
Play tag with me
In a green park.
A cat ignorant
Of the contamination
As it licks
Cesium rain
Off its wet fur.
The dairy farmer
Left this message
“If the nuclear plant hadn’t exploded,
I wouldn’t kill
Myself.”
A genetic heritage
Not polluted by cesium
Is a precious gift
From my ancestors
To my descendants.
Rice and vegetables
Pears and peaches
Cats and humans,
May all beings
Revive in Fukushima!
Farmers returned to hometowns
To clean their polluted fields.
And then sowed white seeds
Of vegetable
In the new fields.
We’ll sing a song,
And dance again
Around a big cherry tree
In our hometown:
Fukushima, Fukushima!