Historiography on Hiroshima-Nagasaki (H-N) bombing
Closed and opened my eyes in a flash-
On this foggy morning, draping the “Milestone”,
Where my thoughts began to clash!
Ethical, legal, and military controversies about obliteration
Surrounded my restless mind-
And provoked me to review such massive destructions
With too many evidences left behind!
“Enola Gay”, the bomber, carried “Little Boy”
From Finian Island to drop it on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945-
And caused the blast, heat with ensuing fires
To burn ninety thousand (90,000) people alive!
Another bomber, “Bockscar” dropped the “Fat Man”
Over Nagasaki three days later-
And resulted in forty thousand (40,000) deaths
At an instant that history knows better!
Hibakusha and niju hibakusha, the surviving victims
Of H and N bombings continue to remind us all-
About the horrific explosions and keloid scars
As the consequence, with a wakeup call!
“Nuclear weapons and human beings can’t coexist”
Is the ugliest lesson that we should learn-
From the hibakusha of twentieth (20th) century,
And the way they now live and earn!
The need for dropping the bombs
To end the war has been widely challenged-
By the scholars of the world,
And too many debates have been arranged!
The cities destroyed by bombings can’t be resurrected,
But will lead us definitely with a choice-
Between collective deaths and scientific conquests,
And will echo the winner’s voice!
Humanity to eliminate nuclear weapons, or, nuclear
Weapons to wipe out humanity, is the question now-
And we, the humanity, have to decide ourselves,
For our longevity and survival know-how!
The genocide devices, like gas chambers and incinerators,
Of Nazi Regimes should remind us well-
About the price, paid by the forefathers of victims,
While their relatives seem to quiver and dwell!
In “Hillolian Conclave”, salient dangers of faulty communication
Among irrational leaders raise the biggest terror-
And can’t ignore the possibilities of globalized Hiroshimas-Nagasakis,
As a result of ridiculous and willful error!
So, let us communicate H and N days globally,
With a meaningful and fraternal message-
‘Cause, we, the citizens of Earth, are the keepers
Of humanity in this Nuclear Age!
Let us reclaim our humanity, without the vanity,
Towards a common sustainable goal-
And eliminate the indiscriminate destructions and killings,
With omnipotent apparatus, to abolish the humanity toll!
Let’s recall and reflect on the Sadako Peace Garden
And Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for a humanitarian cause-
And magnify our vision, free from apocalyptic narrow minded
Obscurity, while we bow down to take the pause!!
Footnotes:
Hibakusha = Victims who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It’s a Japanese word for “Explosion affected people”
Niju hibakusha = People who survived the effects of both bombings on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)
Enola Gay = US B-29 Bomber, dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)
Little Boy = The name of the bomb (carried by “Elona Gay”), with an enriched uranium core; explosive force of about 12,500 tons of TNT
Bockscar = US B-29 Bomber, dropped the atomic bomb over Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)
Fat Man = The name of the bomb (carried by “Bockscar”), with a plutonium core; explosive force of about 22,000 tons of TNT |
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