2020 BLUES

This poem is written by my poet friend Selma Benjamin. She is 101 years old. She has been through the holocaust. She is gentle, kind, and very wise. Here is one out of her hundreds of poems that she has given me permission to print. Here goes:

2020 BLUES

Crazy plague from unknown source
Makes us turn lives upside down
Racism can no more be dismissed
Protesters up against police power

Pedestrians instead of cars on freeways
Looters exploit the situation
Fires, sticks and guns appear
Everyone is suddenly a criminal

Loneliness is multiplied a hundred times
Black and white replace nature’s colors
Boredom greys sunny days
Email takes beauty out of language

Zoom depersonalizes schools and meetings
Phone exhausts voice and feeling
Human beings are very sick
Scientists please find vaccines and cures
SB June 1

Selma Benjamin

this is…

this is my hood
where concrete meets the sky
neon lights twinkle
humanity in your face
born here, loved here, die here

photo: Genie Nakano, 1998

I was born in East L.A., Boyle Heights, CA USA

in the Japanese American Hospital, May 15, 1948.  Racists in America often refused to care or treat Japanese Americans, so we built our own hospital in Boyle Heights on a hill. I don't remember being born but when I went back as a teen, I remember the sweet care I received. I'll never forget it.
       I spent the next 8 years living in projects, Aliso Village, Ramona Village in East Los Angeles then on to two different Long Beach Navy projects. 
       I feel sorry for anyone who didn't get to live in the projects. It was a lot of fun. There were always kids to play with. The one on Williams street had swings, jungle bars and enough room for hopscotch and marbles on the grass.

Nike

Photo by Genie Nakano: Nike my Cat, died: 10/24/16

black cat
departs on a breeze
she left behind
scenes from another life
forest of tall trees

Nike

Bodhi dog
sits next to Nike cat
he licks her face
paws at her bed, moans
she is passing

each day weaker
she can hardly walk or stand
death never gets
any easier
no matter how hard I try

her tiny body
relaxed into my arms
not a whimper
not a cry
gently, gently, gone

Nike died, Oct. 24, 2016, 21 years old

Gentle Yoga Floor Stretches

Introducing my darling nieces and nephew -- Elizabeth Miki Nakano and Koen Sho Nakano. They brighten my life and I'm sure will add sunshine to yours.
These yoga stretches relieve stress, soften and strengthen back and core muscles. Get a stretch belt, put on comfortable clothing and join us in Gentle Yoga.