Flying machines
remind me
of Pearl Harbor,
of Little Boy and Fat Man,
of Twin Towers and Aleppo
of necropolis everywhere,
of history repeating itself.
Sky-path is for the birds
and innocence only.
* On August 6, the U.S. dropped a uranium gun-type (Little Boy) bomb on Hiroshima, and American President Harry S. Truman called for Japan’s surrender, warning it to “expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth.” Three days later, on August 9, a plutonium implosion-type (Fat Man) bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Wikipedia
sumanar/lekha 
So true Sumana… when I saw the memorial in Hiroshima I was horrified. And yet it goes on… who is to blame, the maker, the executor or those who watch in silence?
Wow! Can we get on our knees and atone as if it isn’t still happening?
Brilliant! I, too, can’t see a plane from the ground without thinking of war–declared and undeclared. Again, I think how horrible that the very thing that could bring people together is what brings the most death and destruction. When I was a child in the 50s, hearing a plane or seeing a trail above would make me pause, applaud and enter wonder. Now, dread and guilt come before any innocent thought.
Yes, much of the firebombing was so immoral, just unnecessary…horrifying indeed! Great piece, Sumana.
Such palpable images here, Sumana! I too believe such atrocities are immoral 😦
Powerfully penned.
Sad moments from the history of the world!
You remind me of a part of U.S. history that I would rather forget, but in the forgetting is even more death and destruction, so thank you…
Yes. I cant imagine being the pilot, flying through such beauty, actually being able to release the bombs. I especially love your closing lines which are very poignant and beautiful.
The fact that history repeats itself is a chilling thought. You capture the feeling so well here.
So sad that history repeats itself. We do need to learn from the past, but we can never (sadly) reclaim our innocence.
Sadly I remember the end of WW2 and the relief that the war in Europe the Far East was ended fairly quickly in 1945. However I was few uncles short by then killed in action and millions were grateful that the conflict was over after 6 years of world wide suffering and shortages.
The sky should indeed by a place of safety and peace.. how easily we seem to destroy the world – and in turn ourselves
So true are the words! This picture tells us how a throbbing town ceased to exist within minutes!
Well done, Sumana. After the Trade Center, I never look at planes the same way.
Planes are like tools I think, the just are. The hand that drives them delivers loved ones from across the oceans, can also bring annihilation. Your poem is gripping and thoughtful
Nearly all of our discoveries and technological advances can be used for good or evil, Sumana. Nobel’s dynamite, aeroplanes as means of transportation or as death machines in war, nuclear energy. Now more than ever, we need to educate our children to choose the way of peace and good, not evil…