Hiroshima Day – When Crepe Myrtles Bloom – a Poem by Masahisa Goi – Founder of The World Peace Prayer Society
When Crepe Myrtles Bloom
Masahisa Goi
With these words, everyone in Hiroshima cries.
Saying so, my wife, a native of ground zero
Wets her eyes with tears
In the sorrow of losing many of her students and acquaintances.
Despite the knowledge
That human life and death totally lie in the hands of God,
We pity the ones who died
And feel the heavy responsibility assigned to us who survived.
I am aware from the very depth of my heart
Of the weight of life of a hundred million people,
Nay three billion people,
Nay all the souls who departed to the other world.
May peace prevail on Earth
Let eternal peace visit this land,
We feel the strong will of God in our urge to offer this prayer.
Smelling of conflicts
Not just in Vietnam,
Not just between Israel and the Arab countries,
But in every part of the Earth,
We pray the invocation for world peace
So that the tragedy of the atomic explosions
And the catastrophe of major wars
Will be prevented from occurring again in this world,
And so that we will be able to manifest in this world
A perfectly harmonious world
A world that accords with the mind of God.
I see my garden with a prayerful heart,
A garden planted with a tree of crepe myrtle,
A memory of Hiroshima
And oleander,
A gift from a friend of mine.
Both are blooming their beautiful flowers
And are offering their prayers for world peace,
An annual commemoration of more than ten years.
Note: Crepe myrtles and oleanders typically bloom with pink, red, and white flowers in summer in Japan.
For more history on Masahisa Goi, please click here.