43 seconds

"Garden in Hiroshima"

-"it took only 43 seconds"...

the girl always comes to my dreams the night before

I am always at the same place

a small shop selling flowers and promises

downtown in old Hiroshima 

nights filled with water

and street lights

she is always there

with her burning hands

her eyes melting from their sockets

smiling

as her fingers fade away

she is always there

naked

asking me how can a little boy

do such a terrible thing in just 43 seconds

she always used to play with the little boys in her neighbourhood

her doll walks beside her

headless

i sweat and feel breath against my face

the wind is blowing

the girl always stands still

smiling with no lips

watching me with no eyes

and the words are stuck in my mouth 

and don't come out

how can i talk?

what can i say?

It was a necessary evil, they said,

the benevolent butchers back then... 

she whistles a song

back from the old good happy days

of cherry blossoms and holidays

i know she is a ghost

i know she will always smile at 

the Great Artiste who came to paint

her city

with the colours of death

taking photos

of a crime

just for history's sake

that day the dawn appeared so promising

i close my mouth

so she wont hear me sobbing

i can't hold my tears any more

i wish i could take back

these 43 seconds

but they are frozen inside the very heart of Time

everything has turned to stone

as i open my eyes in agony

8:15 in the morning...