Good morning Stephen,
Thank you for lifting that particular line from the poem and holding it up again — it’s the one that still echoes loudest for me too. In repeating it, you’ve shown how it lingers, almost like an aftershock, and how it sums up the tragedy of our failure to learn. Your comment carries the same quiet urgency as the poem itself, and I’m grateful you took the time to let it resonate out loud. And thanks for your 🌷
Kind regards,
Rolph

Good morning Hélène,
Your comment reads like a story that could be its own short poem — full of quiet humanity. The image of a Pearl Harbor survivor sharing daily coffee with a Japanese man once interned during the war is profoundly moving. It’s a reminder that reconciliation and friendship can grow in the very soil where history once planted deep wounds. Thank you for taking the time to share something so personal and hopeful — it gives the poem an unexpected companion piece in kindness. I also thank you for your 🌷
Kind regards,
Rolph


Good morning Yanma and Hugh,
I want to thank you for your 👍 again! Very nice of you.
Take care,
kind regards,
Rolph

Comment is about August Sixth, Eight Fifteen (blog)

Original item by Rolph David

We weep in deep sorrow. On that subject, a little story of redemption and forgiveness between two people in a tiny corner of the world. When my husband & I bought our house in southern California, USA, the seller was the son of an elderly Japanese man. The old Japanese fellow had died peacefully in the house, while living there alone with his cat. In his younger years he had been interned in a camp set up in northern Calif. for Japanese during WW II. The house seller (son of this elderly man) told us that as a condition of the sale, we had to meet and be "approved" by the next door neighbors. The next door neighbors were an elderly husband & wife; the husband was a retired US Navy man & survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The seller told us he was so grateful to the next door neighbors because they kept an eye on his dad and had coffee with him every morning. Two men who suffered and survived. If only we could learn!!! Thanks Rolph for this poem.

Comment is about August Sixth, Eight Fifteen (blog)

Original item by Rolph David

'We've learned precisely nothing' is absolutely right, Rolph. Thanks for reminding us all of this terrible moment. The idea that this weapon could ever be used again is unthinkable, except apparently to those you have mentioned.

Comment is about August Sixth, Eight Fifteen (blog)

Original item by Rolph David