Asparagus, 1946
They asked me what I thought of
when I thought what I thought
about that bomb
I said I like to read.
Mystery and detective stories.
But death rays and atomic bombs.
I never could read them.
Not really.
What is the use if there is nothing left of use.
Nothing to read.
No one to read.
I tell you machines are only interested in machines.
Inventing other machines.
Sure the bomb will destroy a lot and kill a lot.
But it's the living that are interesting.
Not the way of killing them.
Alright. That is the way I feel about it.
And so that is the way everybody feels about it.
They may be a little scared.
I am not so scared.
There is so much to be scared of.
So what is the use of bothering.
To be scared.
And if you are not scared the atomic bomb is boring.
With a hot baby b.
Everybody likes to be buttered.
Even a bomb.
I told you. This is a nice story.
Little Prayer on Hiroshima Day
For Jana
If one morning
in the east, Chicago flickers
and flashes into ash
and you are not here
by my side, I would
take the hand
of the flames waiting
in the doorway, and go
into the next world
where I know
you will be
waiting for me.
—————————
JOHN BRADLEY
Erotica Atomica
WordTech Editions, 2017
