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HALF CENTURY IN AMERICA

I have been choosing harder ways all my life…

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    • 'It's me!' – Self-publishing 1988
      • – About Me
      • 1. Poems Written in Japan 1963-1965
      • 2. Poems Written as a Fresh off the Boat 1966-1970
      • 3. Poems presented to Dr. Schneider 1970-1979
      • 4. Poems Written during a Transitional Stage and after my "Schneider" Stage 1975-1987
      • 5. TANKA (Poems in 31 Japanese syllables) 1965-1987
      • 6. Words for Songs 1966-1968

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Society

  • Let’s pick up something positive out of the Corona Virus pandemic ordeal
  • Dedicating to Miss Waterbury
  • No Eternal Enemy
  • September 11, 2001
  • Generations

Let’s pick up something positive out of the Corona Virus pandemic ordeal

          In all countries in the world, we, all men and women, have to wear masks. We experience how uncomfortable and hard it is to breathe. We experience precisely how Muslim women feel who have to wear a face-covering. This is an excellent chance to sympathize with Muslim women and support them to breathe freely.

          We experienced that we had to cooperate to contain Corona Virus within our own country and internationally. It’s about time that we learn that we cannot afford to fight among countries. We must stop fighting and create peace for our safety and survival and that of others.
          Pandemic forced us to experience face covering.

          First time in my long life wearing a mask
                   My glasses get cloudy; my sight gets blurred.
                   Hard to get oriented with surrounding
                   Hard to breathe.
                   Long for days, we are free from a mask.
          Welled up is great sympathy to Muslim women
          who have been forced to face covering

          Who wants to wear a mask?
                   None of us want.
                  To avoid the greater peril, coronavirus,
                  We submit ourselves being fettered.
                  We will be liberated once the virus gets controlled.         

          When will the Muslim women be free from face covering?
                        The world must admit what we don’t like,
                                  Muslim women also don’t like it.


                   Longing the day to be liberated?

          Oh! I am sorry that I forgot.  I put the mask on my face.
          Oh! when we would be emancipated from this absurdity,
          When we can breathe freely,
          When we can see an expression of others,
          When we can hug as we feel like it.

          Maybe a year ahead?
          Hopefully, within six months?
          No later than two years….
          We have anticipation, hope.

          Do Muslim women feel the SAME as the rest of us, men and women on the earth?    
          Do they have hope to be free from a mask, face covering?
          for Moslem Ladies          2020

Dedicating to Miss Waterbury

Greatest sympathy to your feeling of being humiliated, which exploded anger, 
understandable, but your rage engulfed the unrelated parties 
just like a frustrated person harmed bystanders

You see, a man and woman relation, each has responsibility 
You know, no one force you, but you choose your boyfriend 
Being aware of your responsibility to the tragedy,
find out what factors contributed to your attraction to him,
you would be closer to walk out of the humiliation. 

Prove what of you blinded yourself not to notice insincere clues 
By facing your fault, you would improve and grow 
Next time, you would be wiser to choose the best among abundant suitors.
Being so beautiful and wise, you would end up “Happily ever after.”

Be a living “Tatiana,” and hopefully, you would dance Tatiana in “Onegin,” too. 
Drop the names of principal male dancers from the Complaint, 
Dragging unrelated men into your bitterness, you would not recover from suffering.

Drop the suit altogether 
The ballet company did not force you to be his girlfriend.
They are not a shepherd of dancers in their private time 
Let’s assume that you will win and get some money; the weight of humiliation would be defined as so much money.

Rewarded for the attitude of blaming others in human relations,
you would repeat a similar bitter game. 
Let’s recall a great actress, Elizabeth Taylor.
She divorced her first husband, the son of Hilton Hotel Chains 
She could have gained substantial money if she sued him.
She refused to do so, saying, “I don’t want his dirty money.”
          2018

No Eternal Enemy

My very first memory of the airplane is American bomber B-29
I was held by my mother's arms, 
who was standing by the air-raid shelter in our backyard
watching the direction of the plane.
If it got closer, she was about to get in the shelter.
Following my mother's eyes,
I saw red lights blinking in the clear night sky, hearing the noise of the plane. It was awfully beautiful.
It was full-moon night shining on the tall sunflower 
Its dark shadow on the adjacent wall looked like a person standing.
I was scared of the shadow while absorbing the fear of my mother.

Ever since when I hear the plane's noise, I always recall that sight vividly, even now after more than 70 years.

At that time, who could imagine that the little girl would be living in an ex-enemy country?

Yes, I have been living in the USA for more than a half-century
Now, I am enjoying my retired life here.

There is no eternal enemy, No Eternal Enemy Country.
          9/24/2017

September 11, 2001

      The Skyline of Manhattan
      The Symbol of Civilization
      Each building stands beautiful in its way
      Yet harmonizes with one another in unity
 
      Must Not let it be disturbed again
      Must Make any effort to prosper this Civilization
      Must pay any cost to protect this Country
 
      America belongs to those who love America.
      America belongs to those who devote themselves to America.
 
               **********************
 
      Thus the War was against Iraq started
      to eliminate potential danger to the USA and other Civilization
based upon plausible justification
 
To this date, we cannot find mass destructive weapons,
The only evidence to justify the War was
Just because the outcome of the War is different from the expectation,
We must not accuse our Government.
For at the time of starting the War, no one was sure of anything
Yet, it was so urgent to eliminate the potential danger
 
      We went along with our Government
No time for finger-pointing
We must now share the outcome of the War solemnly
Let’s concentrate on what has to be done 
     to stabilize peace in Iraq and relevant countries
 
That will lead to a prosperous Manhattan Skyline
The Symbol of Civilization
          3/4/2004

Generations

The 1960s, Virgin and Marriage were glorified
Men married virgin 
   paying the price for taking virgin
Marriage was a license to be accepted by society
   to have guilt-free sex.
Divorce was bad, better to put up with an unhappy marriage.

The 1970s, Premarital Sex? No good, but do it anyway
live together? Oh, no. But do it quietly
Divorce? What a shame, but it cannot be helped

The 1980s, You want to marry? You have not even lived together.
Be sensible. Live together to test love before marriage.
Divorce? Much better to start new than putting up with misery

The 1990s, marriage? No, not ready. I don’t want to commit myself.
We don’t need to.
Divorce? One of those things can happen

The 2000s, Nothing is right, Nothing is wrong.
marriage OK, no marriage OK
divorce OK, no divorce OK
If one feels good about own marriage, it is good for oneself
If one feels good about own divorce, it is good for oneself.
To survive this generation,
 one must develop a keen sense of decision making
to find the best in oneself.
          2/22/2000
© 1963-2025 Toshiko Honda