The Sun, a circle of fire, pulls

On the Earth, a sphere of water,

Who pulls back as

Her ashen silver companion

Raises and releases her tides

As that same fire in the firmament

Grabs the water of the deep circles

Skyward the oceans, rivers and lakes

Along with the round reflecting dew

Are drawn from their terrestrial well

To the highness of heaven—

For only an instant

—And then comes their fall in rain

And silence

But there are also fires deep, dark

Within the Earth waiting to burst

Like the fire held blazing in the hearts of men

They erupt unpredictably into black barren land

Their foul vapors and poisoned emissions

Bring tears to eyes which stream and fall

We know them all, all our cheeks have felt

This scalding damp and it’s salty remains

There is fire, there is water, there are ashes

As the lightening attack breeds the firestorm

A fire kindled in the confusion of hearts

To heat the ovens where hate is burned

From the snap of bones and crackle of skin

Ashes like oceans, rivers and lakes

Are pulled from those smoking stacks upward—

For only an instant

—And then comes their fall in rain

And silence

In fire and water and ashes

A mother’s name Mrs Enola Gay

The womb of that plane

That birthed the bombs

Downward the fire is struck like a match

Those atoms torn into two

Bring the brightest of flash

To seal shadows against walls left half-standing,

Those ashes rise in a mushroom plume—

For only an instant

—And then Earth with her weight pulls them back

In rain and then silence

There is fire, there are tears, ashes later

A holy book mistook enrages

A fire like inflamed seraphim

That swoop and fall from the sky

In an arousal of hate

Bring down the dwellings of men

The slam of metal upon metal

Brimstone flames bring beams undone

Breaks the bones, obliterates flesh

Ashes arise in twin dusty clouds—

For only an instant

—Then the ash falls in tears of sorrow

A rain of rubble and ruin stuns us all

For more than an instant

—Only silence after the rain.