REFLECTION
before Shunta and Gō
return to school
there are PTA meetings
and meetings of class parents
and meetings between Mom and Dad
and all the parents of former han six
and as Mom and Dad say
things might not change overnight
but at least people are now talking
and at least some are listening
and at least some are taking action
when I visit Takemura-san
to deliver a box of brownies
in thanks for the kite
that he and his daughter sent me
when they heard the news
he says he wants to go out for a walk
I’m not so sure about this
since he shuffles and gets stuck
and doesn’t seem very steady today
but I agree
and slowly
slowly
we go down the path
and cross the bridge
stopping to watch
a fish leaping
upriver
it’s a warm day for November
and the river, the trees
the air barely move
at the tilted pine park
we sit down on a bench
then I run to a vending machine
at the far end of the park
insert two coins and buy us each
a cool can of oolong tea
Takemura-san shuts his eyes
gulps and sighs
and when he’s done he thanks me
while tremors make his left leg
and the whole bench
jiggle
he gestures with his arm
to the river, the trees
toward the port and bay
this … he says is a good place …
peaceful
and it’s true
when you don’t have to
fear someone like Shunta
and his followers
it is a good, peaceful place
when Shunta and Gō
do return to school
under some kind of probation
ordered by family court
I keep my distance
and they keep theirs
Ōshima-sensei watches them closely
a teaching aide watches them closely
everyone watches them closely
still wary of what they might do
a counseling group
visits our school
to help resolve the situation
Ōshima-sensei says
there’s a grade six conference
and a smaller special session
with members of former han six
plus Yōhei, Shō, Ken, and kids
who have been my friends
even Satomi
we talk about incidents
and what happened
and we’re supposed to share
how we feel now
and how we felt then
but no one in class
wants to say too much
no one wants to rat
on anyone else
no one yet trusts
they won’t be a target
in the future
if they say too much
the counselors ask us
to write down our ideas
but it’s hard for me
to write these thoughts
especially in Japanese
and especially
when the problems
seem so obvious
I just want to move on
have nothing to do with
Shunta
Gō
Naho
Yuki
and Mika
but the counselor
asks me please
to write
and I remember some words
of my aikido sensei
about a calm mind
being reflected in others
and so I write
and then I share
what I wrote
which is basically
that I want it to be okay to be different
that I don’t want any hitting allowed
that words from teachers are enough
they don’t need to hit students
that I don’t want kids to just watch
when something’s wrong
that I want our school to teach respect
that I think everyone, and I mean
everyone
should learn
aikido