Little Boy

A long time ago
In the battles of the East
Little Boy lay
In the belly of the beast.

Little Takashi hid his face -
He knew he mustn’t peek
Little Takashi began to count,
It was his turn to seek.

High above him, a bombardier
Aboard the Enola Gay
Turned a lever, flipped a switch,
And shouted, “Bomb’s away!”

42 seconds
From the belly of the bird;
42 seconds
To the end of the world.

5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . .
You better hide from me
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .
Ready or not, here I come.

A flash, a bang, a pulse that burns
With the light, with the heat,
Of a dozen suns...
Engulfing, consuming; this terrible fireball
Turns hair to ashes,
And skin to carbon.
Thousands were incinerated
A city was obliterated
How many thousand screams rose up in shock?
How many thousand dreams went up in smoke?
The very Earth screamed and cried aloud
Her anguish rose to Heaven
In a mushroom cloud...

Little Takashi sought
And sought in vain
Sought, but never found
His friends again

“My God, what have we done...”
?