* The verses after 5th are English versions or original language versions, collected from NEGAI Connection members and their students from the world. If it is a translation , sometimes it may not harmonize with the melody.

MACHINTO, MACHINTO by Kayla Wiggs

741. On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima, Japan was bombed.
It must have been devastating for all who went through it and lived.
I can’t quite understand exactly why the United States would want to bomb
Hiroshima, even though Japan did bomb Pearl Harbor.
(Kayla Wiggs Illinois International School USA March 19, 2007)

742. Whatever the case, I am sure that it was very tragic for everyone.
In the story, a two year old girl died from the bomb.
She died saying, "Give me some more."
I'm not quite sure what she meant by it.
(Kayla Wiggs Illinois International School USA March 19, 2007)

743. Maybe she meant more tomato, since that was what she was eating.
Maybe she meant she didn’t want to die yet.
Possibly, she could have been asking her mother to try and save her from death.
Even though she was only two, I think she understood that she was dying, and maybe
she didn't know how or why she was dying.
(Kayla Wiggs Illinois International School USA March 19, 2007)

744. The point is that either way, she "wanted more," but she didn’t get it before she died.
The story also mentioned that someone heard the little girl turned into a bird.
The bird in the book looked like a dove.
Maybe that symbolized that she was finally at peace.
(Kayla Wiggs Illinois International School USA March 19, 2007)

745. She had "more." It is a terrible think if and when someone dies so young, but it does happen.
It shows people that war doesn’t just affect the soldiers and their families,
but it affect everyone, even entire nations,
which includes innocent bystanders, both young and old.
(Kayla Wiggs Illinois International School USA March 19, 2007)

AUGUST 6, 1945 by Kenzie Cook

746. "In an instant, the whole city flamed up. In an instant, it was collapsed."
"People were also burning as flame;
survivors were wandering around with burns all over.
Black rain kept pouring upon them."
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

747. The story give words in different little segments.
Although the segments are little, they need lots of thought to comprehend Hiroshima.
What is Hiroshima?
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

748. Is it a country?
Is it a state of mind?
It is an event that happened in Japan?
What is Hiroshima?
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

749. This is one of the many questions I am asking myself after reading the story five times.
Another question that arises is what is so important about August 6, 1945?
Is this date a sort of sign in the story?
Does it date a point in history that is important?
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

750. The line, "she was atomic bombed," has many meanings to me.
One is that "she" is referring to Hiroshima.
It wasn’t just the girl who was bombed;
rather it was all of Hiroshima.
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

751. Americans consider America to be of the female gender.
Can a country really have gender?
No, it can’t so why would Hiroshima be a she?
Another assumption is that "she" is referring to the little girl.
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

752. One problem with this though is she wasn’t the only one who was atomic bombed.
To most people, this story is depressing, dark, and horrific.
For me it is more than that; it is history.
The story is a story withinitself, it tells of what happened on that day, August 6, 1945, in Japan.
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

753. When you read these lines you receive mental pictures of screaming, people shouting, the sound of fire, the smell of smoke,
you also see the lives that were taken in a matter of minutes.
I see a city in the fiery pit with people whaling and children screaming
just like the girl but she screamed "machinto, machinto."
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

754. The only question that I could find
that is not answered in this story is that,
Why is the girl calling out "Machinto, Machinto?"
What does she really want more of?
(Kenzie Cook Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

THE RAIN by Jillian Barron

755. The sacks of innocence drop from the heavens to break the hot stillness and deafening silence.
The soft pitter patter of children’s laughter wipes away the sin and dirt on the earth and introduces the climax of a waterfall orchestra.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

756. The soft deluge intertvenes with the breeze to create a cooling screen that
gently lifts the weight of summer heat from our backs.
As the steady persistent beat of the drop lets grows to a thing kind of music,
our hearts seem to sing along and a crystal clear calmness flows over us
as water would flow over a warm sandy beach.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

757. We can taste the newness that has replaced ourselves and brought in our
naive passion that we had long since forgotten.
It is sweet and quenches our parched memory.
We join this ethereal celebration and the tranquil drops burst on our
skin washing away fear and anger and composing a new song of hope within ourselves.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

758. As the final violins of a breeze brush against the back of our necks,
we feel a placid happiness trickle through us
as the sun comes back out to play with the dew drops left behind on our cheeks.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

759. Many people talk about finding a simpleness in the rain; a sort of closeness to oneself, if you will.
I feel a new hope because the rain reminds me of God.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)

760. I once heard a story about this little girl
who, when she was born, was in such critical condition that her mother could not hold her.
For over five months, she was unable to have any human contact.
(Jillian Barron Illinois International School USA March 22 2007)