Java's Ghost Nuclear Reactors Poem by Terence George Craddock (Spectral Images and Images Of Light)

live on the island of Java
one of the most densely
populated places on earth
in a suburb on the edge of

Bintaro next to Tangerang
regency over 2.6 million
a few million people in
our suburbs outside Jakarta
a paradox merge mega city

seven districts Ciputat,
Ciputat Timur, Serpong,
Serpong Utara, Pamulang,
Pondok Aren, and Setu

with a total population
of 1.2 million scattered
near my home form part
of Tangerang regency just
a few of many suburbs of

South Tangerang 26 districts
rezoned was 36 districts
3.4 million people in 2009
just one side to a mega city

about 15 k from the nearest
nuclear reactor there are
another two one over an
hour away by car in Bundung
the city my wife's parents

come from here but they
live in a suburb of Jakarta
called Cijantung in East
Jakarta close to city Bogor

on the way to Bundung the
other nuclear reactor is in
Jogakarta big cities suck up
power Jakarta the big durian
never sleeps misses heart beat

but my house is quiet the law
is elastic so like a local here I
usually never wear a motorcycle
helmet within 5 or 10 kilometres

from home unless riding to
nearby Serpong four on the
bike two adults two children
Indonesian style because this
is normal in these our suburbs

but this city in Indonesia kills
over 1500 on the roads yearly
motorbikes hitting potholes in
the road monthly can hit over

30 dead in a single bad pot holed
month but out here we avoid all
smoke-belching three-wheeled
vehicles stinging eyes throats in
hours of snarl traffic or gridlock

a happy man here lives five minutes
from work not two or three hours
of traffic conflict away so worry
over run down reactors does not exit

locals do not even know they are there
immediacy includes no might future fear
Indonesia hugging Pacific ring of fire
volcanoes mud slides kill thousands
Aceh Tsunami 2004 killed 230,000

Indonesians reactors presently score nil