Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA I remember it well, that first day in Hell So long ago, I know As the sirens sounded our Yankee foe Decided that now his power we would know So dropped his Atomic Bomb from the sky That caused those below to melt and to fry As we all saw the flash and then felt the blast That blew infernos around us, to eerily cast A different light on a different world As blackened bodies lay unfurled In corners and gutters, clinging together Welded and wedded, where no man could sever Yet skinless souls still shuffled by In silent circles they would try To see the sun, to see the sky I remember it well, that first day in Hell So long ago, I know When God let man his fate create And genius fell to earth, as hate As dependent on a compass whim Determined how much blackened skin Would flap around, about your heel Or even how much pain you'd feel As you dragged around your cloak of death Blinded, deafened, sucking breath Those with huge bloated heads just staggered around Til their eyeballs popped out, to burst on the ground The mushroom cloud now rose on high As snow-like ashes fell to lie On those below who searched the sky I remember it well, that first day in hell So long ago, I know I watched where tender lips did lie To see dark holes vent silent cry And the shape of a horse, that stood in the sun To bask in God's warmth, 'til a hotter one Burnt him so perfect, against a white wall In an instant heat, that left no time to fall I saw shadows on steps, where bodies had curled As vapourized souls left their mark on this world Now black dollops of rain fell out of the mist From that curse'd sky, in one final twist But the deaf and the blind who looked up to God Found these cascades of rain naught but a fraud For they fell with the splash of hot nuclear ash I remember it well, that first day in Hell So long ago, I know Then we dug in the rubble, the debris to hurl And managed to find a frail little girl It dampened our glee, when she just couldn't see But still managed to cry, thru one squid-like eye Whose last look at life was facing a sun That once gave her birth, but then fell to earth So feeling her pain on that lonely day I stroked her long hair 'til I felt her sway For it fell out in clumps, and really looked bad And although she was blind, she felt really sad Then some saviours arrived, with water and food But victims of burns should not drink, if they could So they gasped and gave up, and dropped where they stood I remember it well, that first day in Hell So long ago, I know This child that we found needed blood, so my friend Decided to give as he neared the end So he gave what he could, thou feeling so feeble Couldn't stop bleeding, when they took out the needle He had just drunk too much of that evil black rain So we stood by in shame, as he gave up his pain In the centre of town stood a fountain and pond Thirsty circles clung there, 'til Death waved her wand Now they sit in my mind, but at night circle round Like those in the fire, who dug into the ground The firestorm had started to eat up the air Yet many stood still, for they just didn't care But we panicked in fear, and ran here and ran there I remember it well, that first day in Hell So long ago, I know So we ran to the river but the river ran red As thousands jumped in, as they burned and they bled But they drowned in the scrum and ended up dead As bodies and corpses to the surface were fed Our nails and our teeth and our hair then fell out While those in the fire screamed shout after shout The day that huge plane dropped a gift with regret A gift to remember, a gift to forget When it placed Hell on Earth, and our City ceased With a toast from the skies, and a boast from the beast DEDICATED TO LITTLE TAEKAKO YOSHIMOTO, ONE OF THREE THOUSAND SCHOOLCHILDREN, WHO PERISHED, THAT FIRST DAY IN HELL