Member Poem

Okinawa War thoughts

these dark moods
follow me
as I tour Okinawa

where the last battles
of world war 11 were fought

thousands died
in the first
and last outpost
of the American East Asian Empire

Okinawa Beckons me

Okinawa Japan
kept calling to me
in a dream
notifying me
always in the background
where my memories
always waiting for me

Beckons me
everywhere I go
cosmic reflections
of past lives
never seen before
seems lost in time
maybe just the spirits of the dead
everywhere I see ghosts

Okinawa Street Scene

Walking the streets
of Fabled Naha Okinawa
a life time dream
someday I would visit

I am surrounded
by ghosts of the past

and Japanese beauties
all around me

tempting me
with their sweet smiles

Impure thoughts
fill my head
as they smile at me
and I smile at them

No wonder
so many Soldiers
brought back
Japanese wives

Japanese Coffee Barista

watching the Japanese
coffee barista

preparing my snarling cup
of hot boss coffee

how I wanted to express
what was on my mind

right then
to the Japanese
coffee barista

Ghosts of Okinawa  
Ghosts of Okinawa

Touring the battlefields
of Okinawa

where so many young men
gave up their life
so many years ago

I see the ghosts
all around me
feel their spirits
floating through the air

Kilroy was here
there and everywhere
whoever that was

and John Dean wannabes
and Elvis wannabes

and so many other wannabes
and I see the ghosts
of the fallen heroes
all around me

Strange Signs

everywhere in Asia
you see strange variations
of English
Japlish, Konglish, Singlish

the street signs in Okinawa
are all in Chinese, Japanese, English and Koreans
the bus and train announcements as well

Hard to get lost
even when you want to

but the random encounters
with English words
puts a smile on my face

as I drink my “boss coffee”
wondering who is the “boss”
and why is smoking a pipe?

and many years ago
I saw on a menu
at the old Kimpo Airport
Baked Rick

and in Korean grocery stores
one can find
corn flights

I look forward
to many more years
of linguistic confusion
as I travel about Asia
Dream 1074 Visit to Okinawa Aquarium

Whenever I visit an aquarium,
zoo or wild life park

I am reminded of a prison
the prison is filled with animals
who amuse us for their food

I am sure that the animals
hate us humans

who are watching them
do their animal thing

but looking into their eyes
the eyes of the sea turtles
swimming back and forth

in their prison cell
in the Okinawa aquarium

filled with hatred
for the humans

who had imprison them
and hunt their kind

and don’t get me started
on the dolphins and killer whales

who preform acrobatic feats
for their daily meals

and the sharks
the king of the ocean killers

they too
if they could
they surely would

escape
their prison cell

screaming
Death to all humans

as they flee
back into the ocean’s depths

Okinawa West Coast Road

Riding down the west coast road
of Okinawa
echoes of other beach roads
fill my head with memories

I am reminded of Hawaii
and driving along the Oregon coast
east coast beach towns as well

and Barbados
and the Caribbean islands

all the roads
are lined with tourist resorts
beach views and restaurants

all very similar
yet different

and as the beach towns
fade away
behind us on the bus

my memories
of all the other beach towns
I have visited

fade away
into my memory hole

Okinawa Haiku

In Okinawa
the warm trade winds blow away
the coming winter