we bend their heads bowing
downward
but
keep their wings pointing
skyward
to string them
to send them to the people of the Northeast
to let them know we are thinking of them
we are wishing them well and
we are carrying on for them
but send to which area?
the destruction is massive
who will accept them?
a tsunami survivor shelter?
a radiation evacuee shelter?
accepting the cranes and
finding a place for them
may be a burden
we are all overwhelmed
all over Japan
* * *
Mother suggests sending them
to Students Rebuild in America
they will donate money
for each crane
to help all the people in the Northeast
Yuka and I look at each other
we agree it’s a good idea
we take the cranes off the string and
open their wings to release them
Thank you, Students Rebuild!
it is nice to think of others
faraway
helping
we will send them the first week of April to make the deadline
* * *
no afternoon chime calls children home
we have lost track of time
Yuka’s mother calls her home
with plans to meet tomorrow
Yuka takes home half of the
30 CRANES
WE MADE
* * *
I fold press release
through the news
concern about radiation is growing
18:41
even stronger
18:49
I fold press release
after dinner and
through
18:53
shock
19:31
after
19:43
shock
20:06
22:27
Father makes it back, and
sleepwalks through to bed
he is going to the office
working
doing his part
like others in Japan
to keep “the money going around”
to carry on
to keep Japan strong
22:31
the house pushes up then
sideways
we all meet under the table
TV tells us it was south
strong and shallow
under Mount Fuji
!!!!!
that’s down here
closer to west Tokyo
than the one on March 11
experts have expected Mount Fuji to erupt someday
with “The Big One”
maybe someday
soon?
Earth responds with
22:35
a nudge from up north
22:37
a stronger one
22:40
weaker
22:40
stronger
22:43
weaker
in the stillness
alone in my room
I unpack the glow-in-the-dark emergency ladder
open the window
loop its end around the window box rail
push it over the edge and
watch it unravel
the end of the rope and metal rungs
hit the ground with a thud and a clunk
this was the drill
Mother and Father showed me
when I was five
it seemed like a long way down
before I get under the covers
I line all the cranes I’ve made
along my windowsill
counting them one by one by one
35 CRANES
it’s a long way to one thousand
DAY 6
02:40
04:53
05:30
06:04
the telephone rings early
no sixth-grade graduation tomorrow—
it is delayed until further notice
I watch Father leave at his usual time
the bright ladder catches his eye
he looks up at me in the window
you’re prepared, I hear him say
we wave
before he slowly starts on his way to the station
his bag weighs him down
08:58
* * *
9:22
WOW!
Mother grabs her laptop
I grab my mug
we scramble under the table
Mother checks the location of the quake
on the Japan Meteorological Agency website
to see how close it was
then
she goes to the quake map and
clicks to watch from March 11
circles flash by time order
widen by magnitude, and
brighten by depth
why relive it?
The emperor of Japan gives a rare appearance
on TV
in a prerecorded speech
he expresses sadness for the people of the Northeast
he says we will keep thinking of those affected
and will work to rebuild
he worries about the radiation
and asks us to
be united and
take care of one another
on TV
experts report radiation levels are above normal
but safe
in a video
experts explain radiation to children saying
the nuclear energy plant is Nuclear Boy,
a baby with a stomachache
the worst-case scenario is a soiled diaper
no one knows how to dispose of it
now the baby is only farting
and the people closest to him are affected
online
people down here are saying
we should stay indoors
close windows
make the house airtight
hang laundry inside
avoid breathing bad air
what air will we breathe?
grit sits on every windowsill in this house
we cannot keep the fields out
how can we stop radiation?
* * *
foreigners are leaving Japan
they are returning to their home countries
they feel it is unsafe here and
it is time to go
Mother is losing her clients
her work
her income
from my window
I see
Grandmother watching the daffodils
waving at me then
heading for the vegetable stand
the wind is blowing
I watch the daffodils dance
we learned in school
that
these golden flowers protect themselves
rooted
they turn their heads
away from the wind
rooted
they twist
so they do not break
rooted
they dance
in the wind
we are fortunate
down here
the direction of the wind has shifted from the Northeast
* * *
the doorbell rings
a deliveryman
arrives with a package special express
of
slender whistles on strings
from Father
with a note
“please wear”
he must be losing confidence in the house
Mother and I go out into shifted winds
to give one each to Grandmother
and Great-grandfather
Great-grandfather puts it to his lips
blows
TTT—WWWEEEE—TTTT
asks if it’s a dog whistle
it’s not only for rescue dogs, we tell him
can we count on him?
no matter what
we will save each other
or
neighbors will come to dig us out
of the rubble
neighbors who built homes
on land Great-great grandfather bought
and sold plot by plot
for money
to send Grandfather and Father
to university
this land holds
artifacts
underneath
the city restricts digging to a certain depth
in this area
archeologists came in
before the land was broken
for the one-stop shop
at its grand opening,
some very old pots were displayed
what happened to all the people?
why did they leave those pots?
12:52
12:53
12:55
* * *
Yuka cannot come over
to fold cranes
Dear People of the Northeast!
Everyone is worried about radiation.
Some people won’t go outside down here.
How scared you must be up there closer to the leak!
from Maya
13:14
13:17
I sit across from Mother
and
each time I fold
press
release
I think of the girl
we all learn about in elementary school
the girl
folding cranes
after
becoming sick from radiation
from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima
in World War II
with each fold
I am wishing for everyone’s health
I ask to use Mother’s laptop
I search
“clean up radiation”
a photo
catches my eye
a sunflower
I read
“experiments show
sunflowers can drink
low levels of radiation from soil”
can a flower clean up Earth?
we need to plant some
lots
and
I know
where
I can get sunflower seeds
Yuka’s grandmother plants them
collects their seeds
replants them
every year
I’ve seen Yuka’s photos of her garden and
her never-ending cycle
of
sunflowers!
I join Great-grandfather and Grandmother
at the vegetable stand
for their tea break
I tell them about sunflowers and
ask if I can plant some to collect the seeds
to send to the Northeast
I say,
I really wish I had a field of sunflowers
even though
I know
they plan to plant more vegetables
for a Japanese relief group
Great-grandfather suggests planting a corner
of sunflowers
he hears well enough for important things
he hands me the hoe and
heads out to the fields
I follow behind
he shows me where to start
how to strike and
how deep to go
the ground is not that hard
it’s been tilled
turned and
loosened
through the seasons
I strike
turn
loosen
move forward and
strike
along the edge of
the corner
I prepare
for sunflowers
one row
ready to sow
energizes me
I keep going
18:15
in the evening
I am so tired I cannot move
20:20
even when Earth shudders
and
21:02
shakes
so close (east of Tokyo in the sea)
so shallow
and
22:39
so strong
25 CRANES
DAY 7
02:19
07:05
a letter arrives from Principal
an apology
for the delay of the sixth graders’ graduation
“it cannot be helped”
(the gym is under inspection and repair)
she looks forward to meeting many of us under the cherry blossoms
to wish the sixth graders well
at an informal ceremony with their parents
and then
on April 6
for the first day of school
she also gives encouragement for the days ahead
* * *
I find a text from Yuka
saying she and her mother are on their way
south to her grandparents’
until school starts
I am crushed
I have always counted on Yuka
to be here
it’s brave to leave home
they could get stuck somewhere
along the way
in “The Big One”
I text her
asking about cranes
and
asking for sunflowers seeds
telling her to be careful
I wait for a response
but my text is “unread”
out in the fields
I strike
turn
loosen soil
in the corner for sunflowers
it’s a cold day
hoeing doesn’t warm me up
I go inside for lunch
the text I sent Yuka is still “unread”
13:10
the house shakes me
I return to the table to fold cranes
sunshine floods the dining room
but I cannot get warm
in the house
Dear People of the Northeast!
My best friend left. The weather is like winter. I am under blankets in my own home and still feel cold. I want to tell you not to lose heart, but it is worse for you. I think you must know better comforting words than I do.
from Maya
the kerosene truck hasn’t been
circling
the neighborhood
blasting
“Around the World in 80 Days”
filling
heater tanks
maybe there is a shortage
maybe it is all sent up north
it’s the end of the season
but it’s cold
it must be so cold up there
to warm ourselves usually
we would take a hot bath
but to fill the tub
would take time and
energy to heat the water
we could end up with an empty tub or
caught in the tub
when
15:24
Earth moves
a bath is a luxury
but some people
here
and
there
don’t want to be anywhere near water
we keep the electric pot filled
for tea
but later
17:25
clank! clank! clank!
makes me
21:02
21:32
colder
21:33
21:54
before going to bed
I warm myself
looking at photos
of
sunflowers
22:37
40 CRANES
DAY 8
00:51
01:44
Earth pushes
wakes me
03:55
I’m rocked
back to sleep
still no text from Yuka
the house is so cold I stay under blankets
I hear Mother tell Father
an embassy e-mail says
the US government is evacuating American citizens
from Tokyo to East Asia
Father tells her we can go
I hear her say,
we cannot go
this is home
she is plugged in
working at her laptop
communicating with and
helping out
foreigners who are leaving
from my window
I see Grandmother heading to the vegetable stand
Great-grandfather is sowing seeds for more vegetables
before Father leaves the house
he comes, stands beside me
asks if I want to leave
I know Mother would go if I wanted
I know he would let us go
they would let me go
I look at him