Ode to Japan

When all is gone, taking away with it even the faintest glimmer of hope,

it leaves nothing but wrecks and memories;

Memories of what had been,

and long moments of deep sighs, thinking about what could have been.

Memories that I locked in my heart

 and pushed into the darkest recesses of my mind;

Memories that I stone my heart against,

though I know they can shatter the rock nonetheless.

Memories that return in the dark hour of sleep,

when darkness settles on the world;

Coming out from their dark hideout to haunt me,

flashing mercilessly before me, making me live them again.

Memories tormenting me,

until;

My eyes start open

and a trembling finger wipes the cold perspiration on my brow.

I see the shambles,

I see the ruins stretching forth, reaching the horizon;

And I see the blazing sun emerge,

in the land of the rising sun, the hope of a new day.

Perfection

Mother always said, “Aim for the sky and you will reach the tree top.” But how can the tree top satisfy
me, when I have set my sight on the sky? The tree top is not the destination. It is just a stop on the
journey to the sky…on the journey to perfection…on the journey to be the best. Is perfection my
destination? Do I stop when I am the best?


The sky is perfection…the unreachable, unattainable goal. Being the best is when we have achieved that
state of perfection and is not just being better than the rest. But in striving to reach this illusionary aim,
in journeying endlessly to touch the unending sky, we walk along the path of ‘betterment’.


And though we may not touch the sky, reach perfection or be the best, we are better than we were
yesterday and will be better than we are today. And it is this tireless ambition to reach this illusionary
perfection that fuels this constant state of improvement. And in this improvement is where our
satisfaction lies…the satisfaction that is neither found on the tree top nor in the sky.


"If you can fill the unforgiving minute 
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! "

                                                          - Rudyard Kipling