The President loved his first date with her.
The explosive feel,
how her tongue looked. How it rained afterwards
Magical, black rain.
Everyone’s bloated dance in the river that day.
And the second
It was like the whole world ended
when they kissed the second time.
The kind of kiss that burns your throat
and makes you want to talk to gods.
You do, on days like this.
He needs it bigger than before, the third
a human shadow burned in stone
like no one’s ever seen before
like no one’s ever heard, you know
this time he’ll keep his word.
He’s picking out our lipstick now
and picking up the phone.
He wants to make his money now
He wants to press the button now.
He wants to lick our blood off now
He wants to kiss the world.
After the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, black rain fell and bodies appeared in the Ota River. Those who survived the blast had terrible symptoms (how her tongue looked) and died hours, days, weeks later suffering constantly.
This photograph depicts the steps outside a bank. It is called Human Shadow Etched in Stone. More artwork and depictions can be found in A People’s Record of Hiroshima.
This is what President Truman did, and what President Trump has the authority to do. So when he threatens to bomb an entire civilization “back to the stone ages” this is what he means. Corpses in the rivers, humans evaporated, melted flesh. This is what he’s excited to inflict.
Hiroshima is now a city dedicated to peace. In monuments around Peace Memorial Park, there are thousands of paper cranes all carrying the wish for world peace. And in 1964, professor Kenzo Tange designed a sculpture called Flame of Peace. It was lit on August 1, 1964 and will “keep burning until the day nuclear weapons disappear from the earth.” I hope that day comes before the President’s third date.
With love,
Eva Moe