Two Pearls

This poem (and the music that accompanies it) was written to honor the memory of a Japanese woman who survived two American bombings of Nagasaki and whose parents disowned her when she later married an American GI and moved to Hawaii. The couple and their adult son were friends of the author, whose friendship with the husband continues. The melody of the music is written in a traditional Japanese pentatonic mode with a Western harmonic setting.

On Kyushu’s Western shore

Life I once almost lost. What is life worth living for? Is it worth the cost?

For a treasure in a field, Or two pearls upon a tray; To possess them signed and sealed One must find some way to pay.

Two fine pearls of greatest price; Each for love; Each for life. One to serve a saving Lord, One to be a wife.

All I had I gave away For these pearls to make them mine. Heart’s true love one must obey; Human love and love divine.

Love of husband brought a son. Love of God, a family. Now that life on earth is done, These two pearls remain with me.

Two fine pearls of greatest price; Each for love; Each for life. One to serve a saving Lord, One to be a wife.

James A. Tweedie is a recently retired pastor, poet and composer living in Long Beach, Washington. He likes to walk on the beach with his wife. He has written and self-published four novels and a collection of short stories. He has several hundred unpublished poems tucked away in drawers.