Ark of the Lost Angels

Castle Bravo Nuclear Test _{(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)}

Inspired by the song “Russians” by Sting

Two scorpions in a glass bottle,
All too eager to pierce the other’s skin,
A million times over
Until the bottle is drowned in venom. 

The last shot of that war was the starting gun
For a footrace to annihilation. 
An Iron Curtain tore the world asunder,
Competitors too paranoid to talk,
Too scared to peer beyond their fears. 

Two scorpions in a glass bottle,
All too eager to pierce the other’s skin
With such frequency and force 
That the bottle is drowned in venom,
A million times over. 

Evenings at the cathedrals of consumerism,
And weekends at houses of worship,
Wishing for divine intervention and trying to forget
The scythe hanging above everyone’s heads.
Duck and cover can’t stop instant incineration.

Then the wall came down and history ended.
Everyone buried the dried blood behind new promises,
Built on deceit, anger, and spite.
Victors and vanquished clash in the shadows,
Once more with enmity and anger. 

Today, long after the guns fell silent, 
The maps have been redrawn, 
And the world has known ‘peace’ for thirty years,
Hanging in the back of our minds remains
The fear of a second sun on the horizon.