When I was in Japan
I wasn’t . . . but when I was
because my uncle didn’t
make it
so I did
as best I could
which means I really wasn’t
there
but I was and have been
ever since 1945
before I was born
and I felt Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in August
before I was finally tossed out
at the end of October
When I got there
I found myself walking North
looking for mountains
sensing the nuclear waste
behind me
plodding north
and for some reason I can’t
fathom
smiling
trusting
mountains and clear
clean snow
were ahead
in my dreams