The exercise was to write a what-if poem based on one of several pictures. This is the picture that caught my eye.
What if?
We tested bombs
of mushroom clouds
in Navajo deserts
with no thoughts
to the remains
of indigenous people
struggling to survive
extinction.
What if we'd looked for compromiseWe tested bombs
within our own sadistic borders
historically filled with annihilation?
of mortal fear
against German bad boys
holding captive people
in concentration camps
too much like reservations
created by chaotic
hate.
What if we'd tested peaceful wordsWe tested bombs
instead of waging destructive war
repetitively primed by misunderstanding?
of mushroom clouds
for an American win
in a competition
already lost considering
our own criminal guilt
spawning bad boys
bullying and beating
humanitarianism.
What if we'd never set the world stage
needing deadly mushroom cloud
solutions salvaging our lies of freedom?
