Shall I at least set my lands in order?

Buildings burn after an earthquake near Sendai Airport, northeastern Japan March 11, 2011. (REUTERS/KYODO)

I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me.

Houses are in flame while the Natori river is flooded over the surrounding area by tsunami tidal waves in Natori city, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, March 11, 2011, after strong earthquakes hit the area. (AP Photo/Yasushi Kanno, The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Shall I at least set my lands in order?
London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down

A whirlpool is seen near Oarai City, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 11, 2011. (REUTERS/Kyodo)

Fires burn in the port area of Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture following an earthquake in northeastern Japan, March 11, 2011. (REUTERS/KYODO)

Poi s’ascose nel foco che gli affina*
Quando fiam uti chelidon–O swallow swallow
Le Prince d’Aquitaine a la tour abolie

Houses are swept by a tsunami in Natori City in northeastern Japan March 11, 2011 (REUTERS/KYODO)

These fragments I have shored against my ruins.

A view of flooding and destruction in Natori city, Miyagi prefecture, Saturday, after a tsunami was unleashed by an 8.9 quake. (Picture from CNN)

———–

*From Dante’s Inferno: “Then dived he back into that fire which refines them.”
**Quando… : “When will I be like the swallow [so that I can stop being silent]?”
***The Prince of Aquitaine in his ruined tower
Complete text of The Waste Land. Excerpts from section V: What the Thunder Said
Pictures from TheAtlantic.com, compiled by Alan Taylor

Aftermath

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I just wanted to offer up a prayer in the wake of the recent tragedy in Japan. I was staying up late to finish a music theory paper and ended up seeing it on Facebook.

Here are some aerial pictures of the aftermath.

There are more pictures, and I can’t bear to look at much more because it’s just horrifying. This is just colossal. I read somewhere, can’t remember right now where exactly, that Japan hasn’t experienced any horror comparable to this since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski.

Which, incidentally, I learned about in my history segment in Development of Western Civilization today.

It’s very sobering.

Not to mention that this is also affecting the West Coast of the States, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, and more.

Meanwhile, here are some links to anyone interested in helping out.

Help out here: Red Cross
CNN: How you can help

The death toll is rising. Do what you can. Thank you for reading.