Exchanging Belongings

Yangjah and I played last night in front of the moon and Docomo building, thinking of Meri and all others with us in this world right now.

When we finished, a German man came out of the dark and told us his experience of being on the 30th floor of a Tokyo office building during the quake. His voice and eyes only hinted at the moments he witnessed. Speaking to strangers about experiences he can barely fathom he had. Telling of his need to smile and be reassuring to other people near his desk while at the same time he watched the ground rippling beyond his window and thought he would soon die in that building.

We meet and exchange belongings, leaving lighter and heavier in our movements.


3.20.11

A Race Between

Start your stop
watches, we are getting
going, we are counting
geiger numbers down and up
like it’s a race
between fear and hope.

Isn’t there an iPhone app for this?

Mirra’s in Tokyo
Meri’s in Tokyo
Lance’s in Tokyo
Sammy’s in Tokyo
Yangjah’s going
not
going
not
going
not
going
to Tokyo

Yesterday I called a friend
and asked my first
21st century question:
“Shall we cancel the picnic
because of the nuclear cloud?”

We didn’t.
We played on
on an almost empty
riverside.



jerry gordon
3.16.11
Osaka