Catharsis

The mushroom cloud stunk up the smog, And milled the metal into the ground. We were left with all our hairs blown off, Soot black, standing without a sound. All of the earth was madly aflame, Like the wick of a thick, drooping candle. People were pulling their skin off of the pavement, As you grinned with the pride of a vandal. We stood alone, like Adam and Eve, Like Noah after the Flood. When they all died out, you kissed my forehead, And parted the sea of blood. Then you took my mangled hand in yours, And we walked beyond the gloom. You had held the gaze of my vulnerable eyes, And all you said was, “Boom.”