Haiku of Fukushima Daiichi

9.0 earthquake
consequential tsunami
coastal disaster


hospitals crowded
half a million homeless souls
thousands more are dead


seeking relatives
unbelievable landscape
infrastructure gone


tokyo electric
fukushima nuke station
too close to the fault


rode out quake okay
ready for six meter tides
not for eleven


tilt sensor alarm
control rods in fail safe mode
all the screens go blank


too many systems
unprepared for a deluge
key components failed


not enough coolant
reactors overheating
backups kicking in


running on empty
out of gas in just two hours
spare tanks washed away


rocked by explosion
hydrogen bubble ignites
building sheds its skin


last ditch maneuver
pump in yet more seawater
cool that sucker down


what's in the steam plume
radiation has been spread
now it's everywhere


deepening crisis
evacuation expands
danger of more leaks


government warnings 
dramatic escalation
grave nuclear threat


not since world war two
hiroshima chernobyl
mothra godzilla


first just one unit
now its up to three or four
two more left to go


massive public debt
nikkei index takes a dive
who can they turn to


anderson cooper
drops in for a photo op
wants to show he cares


asks burning question
could this happen back at home
ratchets up the fear


bring on the experts
watch while they pontificate
pretending they know


toxic fallout cloud
in the upper atmosphere
due here on may 12


better stay indoors
duct tape up your widow cracks
take some iodine