Photo Genie Nakano, Pai Thailand, circa 2013: “My Consciousness”
Every time my lover
Goes out the door
I wonder
Will he come back
Safe and sound,
with corona going around
Conscience says...
Don't worry
See the woman walking her dog outside
Join her in her walk
Your dogs are bored and listless
See the crow hopping on the tree
before a backdrop of blue sky and cotton candy clouds
And you,
Fearless yoga teacher
Canceled all classes did you not?
Now you know--
That's not the way to be.
Conscience,
listen to me--
I feel I'm doing my part
The White House,
said to do this.
Conscience says...
But girl you're not white
When did you go with the sheep?
Please,
I don't know if I'm right
But I'm doing my part in practicing
"social distancing"
Give me a week to think this over
Yesterday dancing in the street
Next day,
Our family restaurant shut down
Into a surreal world
Where vampires sweep the grocery stores
String beans strewn on the floors
All the shelves scraped clean
"Three minutes to closing time", I keep hearing
But don't you close at 12 PM and it's only 9 PM
Don't you know, we need to eat?
I hear in the air, through the lines, and in lines
We have a chance to make a better world
One that values life
Perhaps the teeter totter of our lives
Makes life more precious
I love my husband lover,
like there is no tomorrow
Yet, only yesterday
I was hollering--
Empty the trash, get organized.
So conscience,
I'm heading for an open nursery
to find roses to plant in the Spring
I hope I'm not too late
But first,
I'll take the dogs for a walk
Genie Nakano, March 17, 2020
I wrote this before I knew the severity of the Corona Virus. Sadly I was mistaken. I was ashamed of what I wrote and trashed it. I just took it out of trash. If only this is just a bad dream and we'll all wake up.
"I'm a dreamer and probably will be one forever."
Here in L.A.
it's a cold grey day
but I'm warming up inside
change is about to happen
let's make this a happening
the virus is here
it's been here since the Spanish flu
a pandemic in 1918
and now it's number 19
I read about it so it must be true
I'm eating well
I promise to stay healthy
until death do I part
teaching Yoga and Zumba classes
and congregating in groups
people
are what keep us strong
they can't take
that away from us humans
we left caves long ago
I'm no doctor
yet this I know--
we must
wash our hands from fear
keep on washing, keep on washing
I know--
prayer meditation and love
creates more serotonin
and serotonin more immunities
so, keep the love bug working
Love is contagious
so spread love everywhere
from your heart
in your thoughts, in your actions
let love fly, anyway you can
om, shanti, shanti om, Genie Nakano ,3/10/20
"I know that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." John Lennon
My husband took the photo of me in the land of my dreams, India, 2015. It’s out of focus, thus creating a dreamy image. I changed the title of the Tanka Series.
I changed the title of this series....Having trouble with a title. If you have any suggestions for a title--please help.)
In my dream,
a firefly lights my way
hummingbirds
drip honey, ocean waves
rise in sync with my breath
the Amazon's
pink dolphins mate with virgins
another Mary is born
our world turns upside down
as the moon floats far away
a parallel moon
with an umbilical cord,
connects us
to another system
transforms us into "annica"
we digest air
no need to eat, poop and waste
we are here
for the moment
and the moment is here
blink your eye
and you are there
shut your eyes
to see where you are
blink, close, behold and open
before I fell asleep
mother sang me fairy tales
of a world full of magic
that's why
I believe in god
Oct. 5, 2019
(Originally published in Rafu Shimpo an International Japanese Newspaper)
Counting my Breath
what can you say
about the sun, moon, stars
while sky
holds them up
do they have a choice
looking out my window
figures walk their dogs
some run some trot
some stop to smell the roses
I planted on the curb
I watch them sniff
then off they go
please spread
their sweetness everywhere
and come back again
I'm waiting
for my transformation when
I love
everyone and everything--
"all sentient beings"
tomorrow will come
in less than 24 hours
the sun will shine
the moon will rise
sky has no judgements
perhaps
a critical mass is due
but let's leave
the people out
of this equation
patience
is the antidote
to anger
I'm counting my breath
as I turn blue
April 23, 2019
Originally published in Rafu Shimpo Japanese Newspaper
