Apocalypse Sonnet 1

Probably the West’s most revered city,
It all seems so surreal and so distant:
Rich of art, religion, and history–
Tens of thousands gone in an instant!

I can’t imagine it took place so fast;       ( 5 )
Most wonder where the bomb could have come from,
And how it made devastation this vast,
And when a just retribution will come.

In the explosion, many people died,
And thousands more suffered bad injury;     ( 10 )
The debris on ferocious winds did ride
Unleashing chaos, havoc, and fury.

I write as if this already occurred,
For when it does my vision will be blurred.

 

                                                                                                                                  Notes on Apocalypse Sonnet 1

Line 4:  
Because I am actually writing about this event as if it already took place, I can only hypothesize as to an actual number of casualities. Tens of thousands seems quite conservative when considering the most likely target city, that it would have a large population. Unfortunately, the threat of a nuclear bomb in the hands of terrorists is considered low, and the gathering of resources to deal with such a large scale crisis is too daunting a task for even the most well known preparedness organizations.   

Line 5:  
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. Revelation 18:10 KJV
Line 7:  
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Revelation 18:21 KJV

Line 8:  
Although grief is certainly a strong emotion right now, anger is another one. For some there is no absence of the desire to repay those who committed this atrocity. Intelligence will ultimately point the finger at a regime that has already been punished and put away, thus retribution will remain limited. That does not mean terrorism is not at large: in fact, the terrorists may well have temporarily gained the psychological advantage by this act–an advantage that must be short-lived. Ignorance of what this event means and why it happened would prolong their advantage, which is why this revealing (apocalypsis) is so important.    

Lines 11 and 12:
Outside the primary blast zone is where super heated winds cause much fire to break out, and flying debris is also a major hazard.

Lines 13 and 14:
The timeliness of this material requires, for the most part, it be done before the fact.  Emotions will be far too intense around the time it happens, and the value of this knowledge has yet to be seen. 

 

 

Harry Thumberbe