outside looking in
and the old year slips out
through a back window
Standing in line with my family at a shrine today, under the twisted branches of tall pine trees and the eaves of an old wooden building, alarms started going off all around me. Shortly after, a long, rolling 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck.
What a way to start the year. It was almost as if the gods had heard someone’s prayer and given a sign that it was granted.
With that, I leave you with the first poem of 2024 and the last of 2023.
Happy New Year to all!!!
it’s Kentucky Fried Chicken,
Christmas in Japan.
it begins its return
the darkest day
dawn’s light dances
on my window
and the wind listens
the warmth of my own breath
on this frigid night
warm hotel windows
my breath hangs in the air
we say goodbye
and you become the past
0
0
0.000
I reckon you already know which one is my favourite 💜
Swinging (almost literally but in a dance way and not in a schexy way!) by to thank you for all your you-ness, beautiful words and inspiration last year. Special, special human.
Best wishes for the year ahead and may it be filled with the winds of change for all the good things we all deserve. Only respect and love for your insight and sharing.
Stay you! 💥
(unless you're craving Kentucky)
Happy new year to you, too, Nickydee!
You describe the traits of winter very well. I hope everyone was alright after the earthquake.
Fantastic poem!
Thank you. The area near the epicenter suffered a lot of damage, but fortunately for myself and family, the area where we live didn’t.
Unfortunate to know about the earthquakes, it's all over the news. Take care.
Yeah, I received concerned messages from people all over the world pretty quickly. It’s amazing how fast word travels nowadays.
That's true.
Glad to hear that you're safe. The threat of a tsunami was worrisome too. Happy New Year indeed!
Now, as for the poems, you've really captured a sense of the season, and the progress of time. That said I can only have one favorite, and it's about one of my family's fondest memories of Japan, KFC on Christmas! That, and a Christmas cake!
Did you do the KFC while here? I’ve done it a few times, but try to talk my family out of doing it every year. Oddly enough, we’ve developed the tradition of having lasagna on Christmas Eve. It’s become an annual request from my wife and her siblings, so every year now I make 14 mini lasagnas and deliver them to everyone.
KFC? At Christmas? In Japan? Have you seen the lines??? We never had KFC at Christmas there, but we have doine it twice. Once in Guam, when both kids had chickenpox and we couldn't be around others. We took KFC to the beach and ate there. Last time was Christmas 2017. My wife and son had the flu and I brought KFC home after work. They sat in separate corners, myself and my daughter-in-law (pregnant at the time) in the other corners. We ate KFC and I threw gifts from under the tree to everyone. Some Christmas! Lasagna sounds good. I may have to suggest that next year...I mean this year ;)
That sounds like my New Year’s last year, minus the KFC.
My daughter and I were quarantined in a room with Corona and my wife had to leave three meals outside of our door every day while she and my other two children stayed as far away as they could.
Wow that certainly is one way to usher in a New Year! Yikes. I doubt that will soon be forgotten! Lets hope things get better from here!
I do find some ironic humor in the Kentucky Fried Chicken in Japan deal 🙂
That is the strangest thing, isn’t it, KFC in Japan. I’m not sure when or how that got started, but now all kinds of restaurants and food suppliers have joined in and you can get fried chicken for Christmas from a variety of places.
I suppose it’s like the hibachi restaurants in America. People think they’re going to a Japanese steak house and having a Japanese dining experience, but they aren’t. You won’t find anything like that over here.
That was great poem! I'm glad you survived the earthquake, I've never been in one that strong before. Hopefully this year will be a better one economically, especially for BTC and Hive.
So you KFC for Christmas? Not a bad choice!
!DHEDGE
Yes, fried chicken is all the rage over here for Christmas. 😆
Btw, what’s DHEDGE all about?
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Uh, what a terrifying way to start the year.... I hope you are safe and sound. I really liked the image in the first poem, the new year coming through the door and the old year sneaking in through a back window. Greetings!
I’m glad to hear you liked that imagery.
Happy New Year to you!😊
What a play with words describing the coldest yet the most peaceful season. It was interesting and heartbreaking reading about the earthquake. I wonder how does it feel an earthquake of such magnitude?
It’s generally pretty terrifying to be in a big earthquake because you have no idea how long it will last, how strong it will get, and where a safe place to go is.
Should you stay inside? If you do, will the building you’re in collapse on you? Should you go outside? If you do, will the road suddenly split open? Will something like a tree or an electric pole fall down on you? Will you get hit by an electrical wire that has snapped? Should you get in your car?
If you are by the sea, you have to worry about a possible tsunami. And with that, even if you evacuate and get to higher ground, how big will the tsunami be? You don’t know.
I was in Sendai during the massive earthquake of 2011. While that was much bigger than the recent earthquake, both quakes felt very similar.
And at the same time, it’s an interesting feeling because what is generally solid becomes soft and malleable, and you ride on it and with it, which is something that I find, in the middle of my worry and terror, fascinating.
Thank you for your vivid and detailed response. I don’t think it is something that many people can describe so well nor handle it.
Now you have successfully made Christmas in Japan one of my wishes