DUST

When I heard DUST for the first time, I had chills from head to toe. I listened to it a couple more times, and was impressed by a feeling of age old tradition meets something new and potentially dangerous. The tune played through my head for weeks, and I felt the same way about it every time. The music inspired me. I hadn't written a song or poem for many years, but couldn't suppress how the piece made me feel. Today I sat down with pen in hand, and a blank piece of white paper in front of me, folded it into thirds, and began to write.

The twentieth century was a time of unprecedented change throughout our world. The atomic age is probably the most pivotal and volatile time in human history, therefore, on this 21st anniversary of the worst nuclear accident* in history, I have chosen the dawn of the atomic age as my lyrical topic... the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
DUST
Poetique by Rhetro Zenberg
Musique by The Industrious Quartet of Fripp Levin Bruford and Belew
(alef)
Sun is rising
Cool breeze blows from the bay
Children rising
Dawn of a new day
Boys are playing
Sisters praying
Water-falling
Mothers calling to those they love... encouraging fair play
(mem)
War birds flying
Speedily on their way
Clouds are clearing
Making clear the way
Course is staying
Boys are praying
Fat Man falling
Mothers calling to those they love... its another air raid!
Are you listening? Can you hear me? Are you listening? Are you hiding?
(tav)
New sun rising
Shock wave on its way
Houses burning
There's no place left to pray
No one playing
Bodies laying
Black rain falling
Mothers calling to those they love... Can you hear me?
Are you listening? Are you hiding in the hot DUST?
*Even though it happened on this day way back in 1986, Chernobyl is a problem that hasn't gone away... the subject of a future post.