Since the magnitude 9 earthquake, followed by the deadly tsunami that struck Japan’s north-east coast on March 11, Mennonite Mission workers and associates have been blogging about the recovery. Most of them do not serve in the immediate disaster areas, but their messages of hope and resilience have provided informative perspectives, particularly as the tragedy has dropped from the top headlines of major media outlets. In contrast, Japanese Mennonite poet Yorifumi Yaguchi and his family lost much through the tragedy. The Goshen Biblical Seminary graduate is a nationally known poet who has witnessed Japan’s massive pain before. During World War II, he watched bombs split his countryside to pieces. At the request of Mennonite Mission Network, Yaguchi wrote the following poems, expressing his thoughts of the current tragedy’s impact on his beloved nation.
