The day after all the bombs had fallen,
\nI took a walk.
\nThe doughnut shop had doughnuts
\nand I ordered two,
\none with frosting,
\nthe other glazed with atomic dust.
\nI ate them outside for reassurance.
\nAll the buildings were standing
\nand the dust was wafted by the breeze
\noff the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Normal,
\neverything was normal.
\nThe world was still intact.
\nEven a second doughnut
\ntasted less radioactive.
\nIt was an academic exercise,
\na rhetorical reprieve,
\na philosophic conundrum,
\nto contemplate the end of the world,
\nto see actors shuffle about
\nlooking for rings
\nand yesterday\u2019s newspaper.<\/p>\n
Everything a junk pile,
\nnot even rusty yet.
\nThe fallout drifting like snow
\nand I sighed in relief,
\nin contentment.
\nThe end of the world was easier
\nthan the middle.
\nAll\u2019s well with the world I thought,
\nfeeling the hair stand up on my head,
\na snake travel up my back.<\/p>\n
One device.
\nOne hydrogen smackola,
\ncould with its little switches
\nvaporize a hundred square miles,
\nrain picnics over the horizon.
\nBut it didn\u2019t happen.
\nAll 30,000 of our little brothers
\nare resting snuggled in their silos,
\nsecure in their submarines,
\nlocked in the bay of the bombers,
\nsecured, fed, sleeping.
\nAll\u2019s well with the world.
\nHell picking at the lock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The day after all the bombs had fallen, I took a walk. The doughnut shop had doughnuts and I ordered two, one with frosting, the…<\/p>\n