弟

my brother is there.

he is in that country, far away from here, that's sending radioactive particles through the air across the pacific, to reach me and to reach us west coast toasters, here, though finally "harmless" to our lungs upon arriving.

but he isn't hurt. i suppose his lungs are experiencing some new radioactive friends. that’s all.

but when the quake shook over there, and we were safe in our warm california climates and at six-thirty in the morning my dad calls, and all we know is japan is experiencing tumultuous shakes and tsunami and now the sky is on fire as we watch the American television, that hasn't bothered to specify what parts of Japan have been affected and what areas are still safe.

we just know the country has been threatened, worse than we can think because it isn't a normal day anymore. my parents watch it and all we see is images of houses swimming in waves, crumbling while buildings burn. and the people are missing, they are lost.

but he should be ok. he should be ok.

they are fine, where he is, in sapporo, 365 miles away its confirmed hours later, but the news keeps talking. we are thankful, but it is difficult, when bodies, thousands of bodies are washing up, they are washing up. the waters took them, and now sea is retching and is sick from the dead, so leaving corpses on the beach as tokens of their madness.

and little sapporo sits untouched. it is untouched.