Hiroshima And Nagasaki Remembered Poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

66 years ago the atomic bomb blasted
below the heads of those in these towns.
How many hundreds, yes, how many thousands
were left to die, consumed by man-made fire?

66 years ago, the incredible showed its face
that death by hundreds or by thousands
be decreed by man, that the green land
and waters should stand barren and poisoned.

Never again should another atomic bomb
be blasted on another town or towns!
Never again should another Nagasaki
and Hiroshima be doomed to atomic curse!

But let their story be told to generations
Let the ashes of the dead float in the seas
and rivers, an eternal reminder of human fault.
Let this story be remembered and retold.

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August 9,2011