This month marks the 75th anniversary of the use of the atomic bomb and the atrocities of nuclear war. The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, leading to the end of World War Two. The explosion in Hiroshima killed an estimated 80,000 people and thousands more would die as the result of exposure to radiation. Midlands poet Randy Spencer commemorates this anniversary with his poem, "Yasuhiko Shigemoto's Walk." No more Hiroshimas.
- Ed Madden
Poetry Editor, Jasper Magazine
The “Shadow” of a Hiroshima Victim, Etched into Stone Steps, Is All That Remains After 1945 Atomic Blast — Open Culture
YASUHIKO SHIGEMOTO'S WALK
August 6, 1945
a curled red oak leaf
crab-walks across a flat stone
our summer will end soon
half my schoolmates and I
lunch in cool shadows beneath the bridge
an almost dry river bed
my belly exposed,
a white flash in the southern sky
blisters its soft skin
sudden, violent heat
as if something touches me
with hot tongs
in the bright light
inerasable shadows
where someone stood
on a wall, how could
empty space become shadows
light become dark
shadows that cannot
move with the changing sun,
trees leveled, no leaves
cicadas have hushed,
a silence waiting
the season to reverse
a huge jellyfish
a mushroom high in the sky
dust clouds
become a column
a pillar of fire rising
in the dark air
injured begin
to appear, walking along
the narrow river
from their outstretched arms
flesh hangs, sheets of skin drape
from backs, abdomens
if their arms drop
pain is overwhelming
screams shatter the calm
half of my classmates
were working in the city center.
are they dead? One calls
to me from the river
and I fall into the line
marching away
pink chrysanthemum
blossoms open their dark hearts
black rain is falling
Based on "My A-Bomb experience in Hiroshima," a speech given by Hiroshima survivor Yasuhiko Shigemoto on July 29, 1995 at the Plenary Session of "No More Hiroshimas Conference" at London University commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of W.W. II.
H.R. Spencer
hrspencer@gmail.com