Cranes over Hiroshima
The baby blinks her eyes as the sun falls from the sky
She feels the stings of a thousand fires as the city around her dies
Some sleep beneath the rubble, some wake to a different world
From the crying babe will grow a laughing girl.
Ten summers fade to autumn, ten winters’ snow have passed
She’s a child of dreams and dances, she’s a racer strong and fast
But the headaches come ever more often and the dizziness always returns
And the word she hears is leukemia and it burns.
Cranes over Hiroshima, white and red and gold
Flicker in the sunlight like a million vanished souls
I will fold these cranes of paper to a thousand one by one
And I’ll fly away when I’m done.
Her ancestors knew the legend - if you make a thousand cranes
From cranes of colored paper, it will take the pain away
With loving hands she folds them, six hundred forty-four
Till the morning her stumbling fingers can’t fold anymore.
Cranes over Hiroshima, white and red and gold
Flicker in the sunlight like a million vanished souls
I will fold these cranes of paper to a thousand one by one
And I’ll fly away when I’m done.
Her friends did not forget her - crane after crane they made
Until they reached a thousand and laid them upon her grave
People from everywhere gathered, together a prayer they said
And they wrote the words in granite so none can forget.
This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world.
She feels the stings of a thousand fires as the city around her dies
Some sleep beneath the rubble, some wake to a different world
From the crying babe will grow a laughing girl.
Ten summers fade to autumn, ten winters’ snow have passed
She’s a child of dreams and dances, she’s a racer strong and fast
But the headaches come ever more often and the dizziness always returns
And the word she hears is leukemia and it burns.
Cranes over Hiroshima, white and red and gold
Flicker in the sunlight like a million vanished souls
I will fold these cranes of paper to a thousand one by one
And I’ll fly away when I’m done.
Her ancestors knew the legend - if you make a thousand cranes
From cranes of colored paper, it will take the pain away
With loving hands she folds them, six hundred forty-four
Till the morning her stumbling fingers can’t fold anymore.
Cranes over Hiroshima, white and red and gold
Flicker in the sunlight like a million vanished souls
I will fold these cranes of paper to a thousand one by one
And I’ll fly away when I’m done.
Her friends did not forget her - crane after crane they made
Until they reached a thousand and laid them upon her grave
People from everywhere gathered, together a prayer they said
And they wrote the words in granite so none can forget.
This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world.
We invite you to join us in folding 1000 cranes to be used for our Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony on December 10th. While the colorful ones are beautiful, we will be making all 1000 out of white paper. There are several people at the church who already know how to fold them and they will teach you - ask when you see them. Folding a crane can be a very meditative act - with the person making it saying a prayer for peace with each crane made. Whether your prayers are for inner peace, interpersonal harmony, or global ceasefire - imagine all of us putting all of those prayers out into the world. (The Story of Sadako)