In observance of the 75th anniversary of the US use of atomic weaponry on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- A poem by Randy Spencer

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the use of the atomic bomb and the atrocities of nuclear war. The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, leading to the end of World War Two. The explosion in Hiroshima killed an estimated 80,000 people and thousands more would die as the result of exposure to radiation. Midlands poet Randy Spencer commemorates this anniversary with his poem, "Yasuhiko Shigemoto's Walk." No more Hiroshimas.

- Ed Madden

Poetry Editor, Jasper Magazine

The “Shadow” of a Hiroshima Victim, Etched into Stone Steps, Is All That Remains After 1945 Atomic Blast — Open Culture

The “Shadow” of a Hiroshima Victim, Etched into Stone Steps, Is All That Remains After 1945 Atomic Blast — Open Culture

YASUHIKO SHIGEMOTO'S WALK

 

                                                August 6, 1945

 

a curled red oak leaf

crab-walks across a flat stone

our summer will end soon

 

half my schoolmates and I

lunch in cool shadows beneath the bridge

an almost dry river bed

 

my belly exposed,

a white flash in the southern sky

blisters its soft skin

 

sudden, violent heat

as if something touches me

with hot tongs

 

in the bright light

inerasable shadows

where someone stood

 

on a wall, how could

empty space become shadows

light become dark

 

shadows that cannot

move with the changing sun,

trees leveled, no leaves

 

cicadas have hushed,

a silence waiting

the season to reverse

 

a huge jellyfish

a mushroom high in the sky

dust clouds

 

become a column

a pillar of fire rising

in the dark air

 

injured begin

to appear, walking along

the narrow river

 

from their outstretched arms

flesh hangs, sheets of skin drape

from backs, abdomens

 

if their arms drop

pain is overwhelming

screams shatter the calm

 

half of my classmates

were working in the city center.

are they dead? One calls

 

to me from the river

and I fall into the line

marching away

 

pink chrysanthemum

blossoms open their dark hearts

black rain is falling

 

 

Based on "My A-Bomb experience in Hiroshima," a speech given by Hiroshima survivor Yasuhiko Shigemoto on July 29, 1995 at the Plenary Session of "No More Hiroshimas Conference" at London University commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of W.W. II.

                                               

                                                            H.R. Spencer

                                                            hrspencer@gmail.com