Author’s Note: Why was Japan at war—because “we” wanted resources from neighboring countries. “We” wanted political influence over the world. If I was a decedent of “we,” what can I—we—do for this world?
“Generational Scars” read by Naoko Fujimoto
My grandmother hid in a hole in Nagoya.
My grandfather was a soldier in China.
My other grandmother watched the falling bombs.
My other grandfather searched for a victim’s mother after the bomb in Hiroshima.
I still live in the sprout of the war, confused and frightened;
shamed as a descendant. Don’t let the war live twice—
time grows,
adding to our longing for peace. A stone piles on stones.
Naoko Fujimoto was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan. Her poetry collections are We Face The Tremendous Meat On The Teppan (C&R Press, 2022), Where I Was Born (Willow Books, 2019), Glyph: Graphic Poetry=Trans. Sensory (Tupelo Press, 2021), and four chapbooks. Her first translation mini-collection is available from Toad Press. Her full-length translation, of women, is forthcoming from Tupelo Press in 2026.
