"Tatami Room"

It is a sun filled winter morning
I sit lotus style on the tatami mats
My feet are a few degrees cooler
than the rest of my body
And the straw feels like cold sheets
It’s quiet
Despite the humming of the air conditioner
I view the garden beyond the rice paper walls
The pond is undisturbed
The carp move effortlessly with the breeze

I look at the traditional tatami table
Which sits a foot and a half high
And a few feet ahead
I can vividly imagine Obasan
Quiet and alone
Sipping on ocha

The sunlight emerges
through the cracked sliding walls
Just enough to unveil the countless dust particles
Aimlessly wandering around her
As the light hits her back
It casts a silhouette on the screen divider
The silence is so loud now
That memories of Obasan
are projecting images of her all over this room

But for some reason I can not see myself with her
At that table
She is always alone
Humble
Sad
Always

Nearly six decades separate us
Not to mention a language and a culture
She is my grandmother
Born in pre-war Japan some eighty years ago
She is a Japanese nurse in the Red Army
She traveled China during the Rape of Naking
She bore a Chinese/Japanese daughter
She harbors wounds of that war
Considered an outcast for sleeping with the enemy
She lived alone for over fifty years
Solitary confinement
Prisoner
Was my Chinese Grandfather
A nationalist against the Chinese Revolution
Fought the Red Army of Japan
Only to lose his wife
Child,
And life to the Red Army of China

My family has seen a lot of Red
So I shed tears at times for these people
Because the blood and dreams they gave for a family
That they could not foresee.
I can only imagine the pain and suffering
My Obasan and Grandfather endured

How can this tatami room
Capture the serenity of their nature?
How can the silence
Amplify their untold stories?
How can the sun
Warm their frozen memories into life?

I dream a lot
And try to be grateful for what I have
And many times I wonder
why bad times happen to good people?
How bad times can take our souls,
Snatch it!
Without killing us
Aimlessly we wander
These people I speak about are worth remembering
Be grateful

It doesn’t matter the hue or religion we bear
Somewhere far in our veins
Deep in our souls
We have all suffered
We have been slaves and overseers alike
We have tolerated injustices
We have mimicked the less fortunate

We have sympathized with others' pain
We have cried for the dying
We have hoped for the best

I carry the torch my grandfather set aflame
That one day his seed would burn brighter
I drink the Ocha Obasan drank
Because the warmth that she knows
Radiates through my body

I sit here on this tatami mat
Reflecting on the serenity that surrounds me
Their presence is felt
Because in this room
It is silent
It is bright
It is beautiful
And believe me I am so grateful.

"Tatami Room" © by Ches Kanno.
All rights reserved by artist.

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Ches J. Kanno, born to an American father and Japanese and Chinese mother, spent his childhood between the US and Japan living on various military bases.

Upon graduating from Yokota High School outside Tokyo, Japan, he returned to create a home in the US. Never quite finding his niche here, Ches joined the Air Force for an escape and travel opportunity.

During his enlistment, he stumbled upon the movie “SLAM” while he was stationed in Germany where he discovered the art of spoken word. Soon after completing four years of service, Ches began his college career in Pensacola, Florida.

There, he along with other poets; started the poetry troupe ‘Poets of the Fifth Element’ (P5E). The P5E collective soon became a major force in the local community showcasing different events in the community and putting on bimonthly poetry show known as ‘Speech Therapy’ that Ches co-hosted.

He was instrumental in bringing Slam Poetry to Northwest Florida where he competed as a member of Pensacola’s first slam team that ranked 11th in the nation in 2003. After returning from the National Poetry Slam Competition that year, Ches was awarded his B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

By August 2003, he began his teaching career at Piper High School in Broward County, Florida where he teaches World History, Sociology, and Multicultural studies.
He also advises two student organizations, the Human Relations Council and a spoken word troupe known as the ‘Underground Poets’.

In 2004, Ches coached the Ft. Lauderdale Slam Team to a seventh place finish at the National Poetry Slam competition in St. Louis. He looks forward to next year’s competition in Albuquerque, NM.

In the mean time he looks forward to continually crafting his performance, whether as a teacher in front of a classroom of students or as a poet in front of a crowd at a poetry venue.

ACCOLADES

2004
-1st place at Florida Hot Air State Championship
(Spit Fi'ya Ft. Lauderdale slam team)
-5th place at Southern Fried Regional Championship
(Spit Fi'ya Ft. Lauderdale slam team)
-7th place at Natl' Poetry Slam Championship
(Spit Fi'ya Ft. Lauderdale slam team)
-Advisor to Piper High School's Undergroud Poets Poetry Troupe (Sunrise, FL)

2003
-2nd place at Florida Hot Air State Championship (P5E Pensacola Slam Team)
-3rd place at Southern Fried Regional Championship (P5E Pensacola Slam Team)
-11th place at Natl' Poetry Slam Championship (P5E Pensacola Slam Team)

2001-2003
-Co-founder/ Slam Master of Poets of the Fifth Element Poetry Troupe (Pensacola, FL) since 2001

2000
-2nd place at FAASA Leadership Conference Talent Competion (Orlando, FL)

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Biographical Information." All rights reserved. © 2004