Trying to Enlighten Us

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

PEACE GARDEN
—B.Z. Niditch, Brookline, MA

In the evasive sunset
where day skies leave
my memory ensconced
in immobile thoughts
once again
lacerating Hiroshima
in a sudden flash
of grotesque moments
shattering bodies
of dappled red
blood letting
through the ashen air
when birds disappear
in the black clouds
blistering my memory
as my eyes open
doves return
here on a park bench
in the peace garden
hiding and camouflaged
from the scent
of charred rugosa roses
surprising the traces
of nameless souls
like balloons of vapor
in the rubble of roads
from the first trajectory
touching us
from unknown
wake-up calls
with the all clear
sounding like mirrors
of flesh shattered
in a celestial universe
at an earth-wise time
trying to enlighten us
by the grey monument
near the fountains
of luminous waters.

_______________________

—Medusa