At the Bomb Testing Site
by William Stafford
At noon in the desert a panting lizard
waited for history, its elbows tense,
watching the curve of a particular road
as if something might happen.
It was looking at something farther off
than people could see, an important scene
acted in stone for little selves
at the flute end of consequences.
There was just a continent without much on it
under a sky that never cared less.
Ready for a change, the elbows waited.
The hands gripped hard on the desert.
Spiritwood Saskatchewan, June 2016
I think the b&w treatment gives this photo an interesting cold war vibe.
For all my little classmates who joined me in crawling
under our desks when the principal rang the bell.
"The men were waiting! What was the order? They hunched
over the firing controls, waiting . . . The firing controls…?
"Do It!" Do It!" Do It! Do It! Do It!"
from The Big Flash
by Norman Spinrad
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