Photo/Illutration Students march wearing masks at the opening ceremony for the National High School Baseball Championship at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Aug. 10. The tournament was held for the first time in two years after it was canceled in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

In January, I always receive a list of winning entries in “Gendai Gakusei Hyakunin Isshu” (100 poems by contemporary students), an annual contest organized by Toyo University.

Many of the poems submitted in 2021 vividly expressed the thoughts and feelings of their young authors cooped up for a second year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Kurumi Ishikawa, a second-year high school student, wrote this gem.

“The school’s ‘bunkasai’ cultural festival/ Held online for the second year in a row/ How normal this has begun to feel.”

As remote learning and video conferencing became routine, other family members became experts at not being seen on the screen, remaining quiet and making absolutely sure that no background clutter or mess ever got caught on the camera.

Here’s a piece by Moe Kozuka, also a second-year high school student.

“While my younger brother is taking online classes/ I become a ninja/ Walking surreptitiously behind him.”

Kaori Kuroki, a first-year high school student, put it this way.

“When my class begins online/ My room is shown on screen/ I’m working much harder/ Tidying up my room than studying.”

Some youngsters found it hard to get over the loss of their chance to show the results of all the efforts they had put into their extracurricular club activities.

Emi Takeda, a first-year high school student, lamented: “My thoroughly polished flute/ Never got played/ The summer of pandemic had me in tears.”

The seemingly endless “lockdown” was depressing.

Natsuho Hoshi, a first-year junior high school student, wrote: “Fatigued from complying with the ‘voluntary stay-at-home request’/ I take my stress out/ On combat games.”

The pandemic kept families separated, which was the case with Momo Tashiro, a third-year high school student.

“I got my second COVID-19 jab/ A ticket to go see my father/ Who is working away from home.”

For people whose loved ones were in hospitals or nursing homes, visits were severely restricted.

Mikoto Oba, a second-year high school student, recalled: “My grandmother wept, ‘When can I next see you?’/ I couldn’t even hold her hands/ While we talked across the glass panel.”

Hiroko Nagai, a first-year high school student, was reminded of the proverbial three wise monkeys, who “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.”

“Eyes lowered/ Mouth covered with a mask to impede conversation/ And earbuds stuck in/ Just like the three monkeys.”

Here’s another take on the mask mandate by Ayu Kamiyama, a second-year high school student.

“When we meet again 10 years from now/ Will we recognize one another?/ I’ve never seen some of my friends without a mask.”

Ichinosuke Higuchi, a second-year high school student, wrote: “Acrylic panel/ Mask/ Disinfection/ Distance/ I didn’t want to get used to this life.”

Just like him, none of the world’s 7.8 billion people wanted that.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 15

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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