TSUNAMI: A Brief Recital For Children

(Note: I wrote this for a Grade Four Class at Mutchmor School in Ottawa. It seemed to help defuse the tension aroused by the horrific Tsunami of 2004; perhaps it will help some kids deal with the Japanese nightmare.)

TSUNAMI: A Brief Recital For Children

Narrator

Our planet is called the earth,

but it is not ONLY earth,

not ONLY soil,

not ONLY dry land.

There is WATER

Seas and lakes and rivers

Beautiful water!

Chorus

WATER is everywhere

on our shining blue

planet.

Look from space and

see our continents

DWARFED by the

shining water!

Narrator

And the great seas lie around us,

long ago called the SEVEN SEAS

Chorus

North Atlantic, South Atlantic,

North Pacific, South Pacific,

Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean,

Antarctic Ocean.

Narrator

They span the earth and

reach from pole to pole.

They are POWERFUL,

sculpted by winds, reflecting sunlight,

BEAUTIFUL.

But when winds blow,

they are DANGEROUS

Chorus echoes

DANGEROUS!!!

Narrator

and when volcanoes explode underwater

they can be DEADLY.

Chorus echoes

Deadly!!!

Narrator

They can be terrible, a nightmare.

Then the seismic sea waves come,

the dreaded Tsunami

Chorus echoes

Then the seismic sea waves come,

the dreaded Tsunami

Narrator

Waves that strike the shore with the force of a giant’s hammer!

Narrator and Chorus

Japan, 1707 30,000 dead– FEARFUL!

Portugal, 1775 60,000 dead– TERRIBLE!

Indian Ocean, 2004 260,000 dead– UNTHINKABLE!

Japan 2011 more than 25,000 gone, gone, gone!

Narrator

Long Ago when the Tsunamis struck the shore

who heard the cries of the children?

Chorus

The children’s voices,

drowned out by the roaring waves,

could not reach further than a loved one’s ear.

Narrator

Now the WHOLE PLANET hears the suffering children.

Children everywhere are listening

and their hearts go out to the children,

to the children of the Tsunami.

Chorus

WE HEAR YOU CALLING, WE CARE.

We have ANSWERED your call.

Narrator

We will continue to listen.

We will answer your call.

Narrator and Chorus

THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD SEND YOU A WAVE OF LOVE.

THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD SEND YOU A WAVE OF LOVE.

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