Dear Friends,
I am so absolutely excited to share that I am leaving this week to visit Japan! I was born there, and it is where I gained and lost speech. We moved to the US when I was just four, in large part to seek “treatment” for autism, the advice given to us in the late 1980s. I have only been back once, in 2010, and sadly since then my grandma and one uncle have passed. One uncle remains. He is so kind and I am so glad I will see him soon!
I am so hoping to spend more time in the future in Japan and Ireland, to find more connection with my roots. It is so strange to be adrift in this sense, not feeling American really, but also not really anything else. I am skeptical or wary of strong nationalism, but I also desire feeling more rooted somehow. It is the story of diasporas of various forms, and it is so common these days.
So here is one of the poems that I wrote recently as I anticipated this trip. I will be there for two weeks. It seems long in a way, as I think of not being in my home routine. But it seems much too short to find my connection there in the way I hope to one day. This is my poem on that ambivalence in time.
I will likely not post much, if at all, during my trip. I look forward to sharing more upon my return!
Your Friend,
Danny
2 weeks
by Danny Whitty
Two weeks is about half a month
And there are not so many months in a year really
And the years, well, one never knows
How many there will be
So two weeks is both significant and
Not nearly enough.
Danny With Words 
I really like this poem. It really does capture the paradox of how time sometimes feel like it’s going by so slow when you’re anticipating something but yet in a blink, it’s gone. Have a great trip in Japan. I enjoyed my time there, and the novelty of being in such a foreign place.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and beautiful poems Danny. I wish you safe travels and new opportunities to discover.
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