Sendai (T) Sunami Poem by Leela Panikar

Sea smiles welcome, innocent
Soothing tide forgets the big wave

I have showed up
A no-where moment
Ocean-bottom hides shamefully
Shields underfoot a shroud
I was not here five days ago
The tsunami took my love

Snow falling broken heart
Did I hear a bird scream an agony?
Stumbling in mud
Debris, wind weaving
Searching in dread grey I see
A new toy of a recent laughing child

A dawn, a waking, an evening twilight
Somewhere a leak, water sprays calm
Smell of gas, bodies buried.
Smoke, a spark, a fire eaten home
Rest gone, swept away
I have no need for anything
No purpose, no now, no tomorrow

I know not why, or how
Or what for
There is no need
There is no need
No need to be.