HE WAS ONLY SIX
One dreadful day at Emerson,
There came some soldiers with a bus;
To end our recess and it's fun,
With army guns that frightened us.
In World War II with all its fuss,
Fearing parent loyalty mix;
They put him firmly on that bus
When Yukio was only six.
He had to trade his rice for bun,
Behind barbed fence so ominous;
That lonely young American
Who waved a sad goodbye to us.
We did not know yet how to cuss,
Nor did that kid who ate with sticks;
All gathered there around that bus,
When Yukio was only six.
We brought our scrap to Emerson
To buy a tank or army bus.
Until we knew the war was won,
We kept those Japs away from us.
We called them Japs! And learned to cuss;
Showing-off our loyalty mix.
For that's how war affected us,
When Yukio was only six.
Then came one day, his freedom bus,
When tears made dust a muddy mix;
Like those he left behind with us,
When Yukio was only six.