Letter to Yumi

My dear, dear Yumi,
I know it has been a while,
but you are still my friend.
Stop in for a quick coffee a week ago, fed a tidbit of news,
and my world is as changed as your country.
Precious hours go by before I can hear and see more.
It disturbs and devastates me. Deep sorrow enters in.
Buildings shake. 9.0 earthquake.
Tsunami. Towns washed away.
Others washed up on shore as the decomposing deceased.
Whirlpool swirling for days.
Ships are dashed like the dreams of many.
How will Japan recover? Are you even alive?
I cannot account for you though I try many times.
Are you among the current 11,000 missing or 8,000 dead?
My heart is truly broken.
I don't know how much more I can watch or hear.
But even if I plug my ears and cover my eyes,
still you and the destruction will haunt me.
Soon, if not already, the radiation will drift its way here.
Already lives are being lost to nuclear exposure
just to keep Daiichi from exploding.
Even now the shamed scavengers hunt for food
for their kids and elderly parents.
Children search among the shelters for their family
resolute in returning tomorrow to continue the search.
Dear Yumi, please write back soon.
My heart cannot take wondering your fate.
My mind cannot rest. My eyes fill with tears again.
And so, I pray again for your safety,
for your country's peace,
for love and mercy to be tangibly felt in your nation.