Tears of the 20th Century
Somewhere, presently,
the legs of a butterfly
spread gently astride
a creature’s head as it
siphons turtle tears
for nourishment.
A symbiotic embrace,
accepted with grace,
and understanding,
by the ancient and
plodding reptile.
Fighter planes called Zeros,
With bright crimson-red
Circles on their fuselage,
Swoop down on an unsuspecting
Harbor with docked warships.
The Day of Infamy has begun.
A “Sleeping Giant”
Awakens and weeps.
Three days later, a
Mother and Father
Weep with Joy as a
Newborn with Smiley Eyes
Births with a World at War.
The Enola Gay drops its payload.
An enormous cloud of destruction arises.
Three days later, a mushroom-like
Blast will crush another city and end the War.
Massive civilian casualties result.
With the brilliant flash of Death-Light,
What remains are dark Human Shadows,
Etched in stone buildings and sidewalks,
For all whom follow to witness.
A 10-year old boy stands stoically,
At the Nagasaki crematory.
Head held high,
Staring straight ahead,
Barefoot and biting his lower lip,
He awaits patiently to deposit
The body of his baby brother,
Who lies limp, strapped to his back.
The World will never be the same,
As the Atomic Age commences.
Humanity Weeps.
On his USA stage debut,
A young singer,
Whose eyes smile large,
Sings warmly in his
home language, the
Land of the Rising Sun.
For three weeks his sweet song
Permeates and dominates
the Summer Air of ‘63.
Lyrics speak of a Man
who holds his head up high,
Whistles while he walks,
So that tears do not fall.
Five months pass, and
three rifle shots ring out
In Dealey Plaza.
The leader of the Free World
slumps in the limousine.
Camelot is dead.
The Land of Democracy
Grieves and weeps.
The Times They Are a-Changin’🎶,
And very rapidly.
Three months now pass.
The Fab Four arrive in the
Land of Milk and Honey,
At the ‘Big Apple’.
“She Loves You,
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”
They sing,
And pop music will
Never be the same.
No more crying,
Optimism reigns.
Flight 123 departs from Tokyo,
In the Summer of ‘85,
Never to land safely,
In the deadliest air disaster ever.
Families grieve and weep for
Five hundred and twenty lost souls.
Including a mourning widow and
Two daughters of the
Man with Smiley Eyes.
On this very day,
A giant battleship of
the Second World War,
Rest it’s hull just below the
Calm waters of Pearl Harbor,
As it sadly leaks tears of oil,
Back to the surface,
As a continuing reminder of the
Twentieth Century Folly of Man.
__________________________________________________________________________
* This poem was published in the book, Maryland Bards Poetry Review 2024 *
D W Orr
Environmentalist, Weimaraner/Dachshund Companion, Photographer, and Poet-Provocateur
Harford County, Maryland,
Here, where it all began, 255 years ago, in the USA
February 4, 2024
“The Man with the Smiley Eyes” (Kyu Sakamoto, 1941-1985). Enhanced by D. W. Orr
Hiroshima Shadow
(Image credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Standing Boy of Nagasaki
(Image Credit: Joe O’Donell for the US Marine Corps, Sept 1945)
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound at Hiroshima, by Jeremy Carver
Image by Lucas Bustamante
“Tears of Oil”. Image by Mike Fitzpatrick.
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The Poet-Provocateur
”The Man who sees well beyond the day-to-day Bullshit”