The Barbarous Weapon

By the time the centurion entered the war
After hawaiian skies were shadowed by asian warbirds
And on the advice of brilliant pacifists like einstein
The wisest had already been summoned to a desert forge
To craft the century's sword

Harry S Truman had been president for 52 days
He'd only met roosevelt twice
On april 25 1945
His war secretary relayed
Within four months
We shall in all probability
have completed the most terrible weapon
Ever known in human history
One bomb of which
Could destroy a whole city

At the time truman was in
Potsdam with winston and stalin
He wrote to his secretary of war
Mr stimpson
Use it on military objectives and soldiers
Make sure the targets are not women and children

On july 26
Warned the potsdam declaration
Surrender unconditionally
Or face prompt and utter destruction
War criminals will be punished
And we require reparations
But we do not intend
The japanese enslaved as a race
Nor japan destroyed as a nation

Japan issued a statement two days later
The three king's overture
Seemed to fall on deaf ears
Never underestimate the pride of an emperor

On the 6th of august
Tibbets flew his b-29 bomber
(scheduled for the 3rd
but delayed for the weather)
Under the sun
And over Hiroshima
And dropped little boy
On little boys and girls
And when that great mushroom cloud unfurled
Tibbets cried "my god what have we done"

Within seconds
Sixty five thousand humans were vapor
With the great russian bear
Now charging south on the arena
Three days later
A more powerful explosion
Over Nagasaki
Incinerated another seventy thousand civilians
And the skies were perfumed with radioactivity
And a pile of burnt twigs was what was once a city

On august 14
Hirohito overruled his military
And accepted the terms of surrender
Unconditionally
And turned over his broken crown and sword
Aboard the uss missouri

It doesn't matter what god you pray to
War is god
When words break down
War is god
It doesn't matter the throne
War is god
Man's opinions don't matter
War is god
You might as well ask man his opinion of water and stone

-DyMc