Hiroshima, August 12, 1945

I grew terrified.
“Everyone Outside. Now!” My teacher shouted,
pointing to the outside.
explosions could be heard,
from the school garden.

Time slowed,
as I ran for the pool.
People were screaming.
I spotted american planes,
coming over the horizon.

I jumped into cold water.
Bubbles surrounded me,
everyone held their breath.

Kids eyes were open wide.
With sadness.
With worry.
With horror.

Air soon escaped my mouth,
and I swam towards the top.
the scene I picked up before me,
made me think of two words.
Death.
Destruction.

Fire everywhere.
wailing all around.
a huge plume of smoke,
gathering overhead.

In that moment,
I thought of my family.
How far away they were from me.
How much I loved my parents.
What became of them?
Did they know of the monstrosities,
that I was witnessing?

I tried to escape these feelings,
by diving back into the pool.
But I couldn’t escape them.
The thoughts clung to me,
just as my wet clothes did.

As much as I wanted to avoid it,
I swam back to the surface once more,
desperate for air.
But this time I shut my eyes.
Though that only made it worse.

Now all I could hear was sounds magnified.
Screaming.
Weeping.
The crackling of flames.

I dove back under the crystal water
to the bottom,
and I finally opened my eyes.
I could make out the explosions from the pool.
Red flashes.
White lights,
They appeared to be fireworks,
How I wish,
they were fireworks.

I soon lost track of time.
How long had it been,
since I was happy?
How long had it been ,
since I felt safe?
It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Finally, alarms sounded.
Signaling the end of american bombing.
I was relieved, yet I didn’t want to leave yet,
I was to afraid of the carnage awaiting me.

But I soon left, to see,
the rubble of buildings in the distance.
I spotted lifeless bodies lying on the ground,
mangled on the ground.
I soon found my way out of school,
on the road to home.
A four mile walk.

How many people walked down this road,
before they died?
How many people walked down this road,
unaware that their life would soon end?
How many people would never walk into
open arms off their loved ones?
A thought sounded in my mind:
I will have to walk it for them