storm’s signature
plastic scarring the ocean
turtles be careful!

(Jim version)
ごみ畑嵐の残り亀の毒
ごみ ばたけ　あらし の のこり　かめ の どく

(Michiko version)
嵐去り亀に有害ごみの群れ
あらし さり　かめ に ゆうがい　ごみ の むれ

Hurricane season is now in upon us in Hawaii. There have already been two hurricanes that have gotten very close to Hawaii but fortunately for us they veered away from us and also lost their strength and ended up becoming tropical storms. Hawaii is very lucky in that we have not had a hurricane here since 1992. Even though the hurricanes weaken and miss the islands we still have a lot of rain and rough conditions on the water. One of the bad things about this is that there will be times after the storm where a lot of garbage has collected on the beach in certain areas and even will collect underwater in certain spots. The majority of the garbage is usually plastic bottles and bags whcih can be dangerous to turtles as they will choke on it when trying to eat the plastic because it looks like a jelly fish to them. This usually lasts a few days and then it is carried off into deeper water or far out to sea.

　ハワイに台風の季節がやって来ました。すでに、２つの台風がハワイに接近しました。しかし、幸い、進路を変え、勢力を落とし熱帯低気圧になりました。ハワイは、１９９２年以来、台風が来ていません。これは、大変、幸運なことです。しかし、台風の勢力が弱まったり、台風の進路が変わっても、たくさんの雨が降り、海の状態は悪くなります。嵐の後は、決まった浜辺、また、海底に、大量のゴミがたまります。大部分のゴミは、ペットボトルかレジ袋です。亀にとって、このゴミは凄く危険です。亀にとって、プラスティック・ゴミは、くらげのように見えるからです。もし、亀が食べてしまったら、のどを詰まらせます。ゴミは、二日か三日くらい、その場にとどまり、その後、少しずつ深場に運ばれて行くか、更に、遠くに流されて行きます。

Collaborative Haiku Poem
– Jim Woodhull
– Japanese by Jim Woodhull and Nakamura Michiko
– Photo by Jim