Merton's anti-poems are characterised by the conscious and ironic use of the debased but now-commonplace language that masks the horror of genocide.
In his essay War and the Crisis of Language, Merton wrote: "Poets are perhaps the ones who, at the present moment, are most sensitive to the sickness of language - a sickness that, infecting all literature with nausea, prompts us not so much to declare war on conventional language as simply to pick up and examine closely a few chosen pieces of linguistic garbage."
Original Child Bomb was first published in his friend Robert Lax's magazine "Pax" in 1961, but was soon picked up by "New Directions" and re-published a year later in 1962, thereby reaching a far wider audience.
Music:
Sentimental Journey by Les Brown with Doris Day (1945)
Hell, Fire and Damnation by Jocelyn Pook from "Untold Things" Real World Records, 2001
Only the Devil Laughed by Hildegard von Bingen. Performers: Catherine King, Emily Van Evera and Sister Germaine Fritz from "Vision. The Music of Hildegard von Bingen" Angel Records, 1994
Voice:
Vincent Di Stefano
Original Child Bomb can be streamed using the media player above. A CD quality mp3 audio file is available for download here, and both CD quality and LoFi mp3 files are available for download here.
"Original Child Bomb" was recorded and produced collaboratively by vincentd of Integral Reflections and chazk of Virtual Renderings.
The Poem
ORIGINAL CHILD BOMB
Points for meditation
to be scratched on the walls of a cave
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| Fat Man, Nagasaki August 1945 |
2: On April 12th, 1945, Mr. Harry Truman became the
President of the United States, which was then fighting the Second World War.
Mr. Truman was a vice president who became President by accident when his
predecessor died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He did not know as much about the
war as the President before him did. He knew a lot less about the war than many
people did.
About one hour after Mr. Truman became President, his aides told him about a new bomb which was being developed by atomic scientists. They called it the “atomic bomb.” They said scientists had been working on it for six years and that it had so far cost two billion dollars. They added that its power was equal to that of twenty thousand tons of TNT. A single bomb could destroy a city. One of those present added, in a reverent tone, that the new explosive might eventually destroy the whole world. But Admiral Leahy told the President the bomb would never work.
3: President Truman formed a committee of men to tell him if
this bomb would work, and if so, what he should do with it. Some members of
this committee felt that the bomb would jeopardize the future of civilization.
They were against its use. Others wanted it to be used in demonstration on a
forest of cryptomeria trees, but not against a civil or military target. Many
atomic scientists warned that the use of atomic power in war would be difficult
and even impossible to control. The danger would be very great. Finally, there
were others who believed that if the bomb were used just once or twice, on one
or two Japanese cities, there would be no more war. They believed the new bomb
would produce eternal peace.
4: In June 1945 the Japanese government was taking steps to
negotiate for peace. On one hand the Japanese ambassador tried to interest the
Russian government in acting as a go-between with the United States. On the
other hand, an unofficial approach was made secretly through Mr. Allen Dulles
in Switzerland. The Russians said they were not interested and that they would
not negotiate. Nothing was done about the other proposal, which was not
official. The Japanese High Command was not in favor of asking for peace, but
wanted to continue the war, even if the Japanese mainland were invaded. The
generals believed that the war should continue until everybody was dead. The
Japanese generals were professional soldiers.
5: In the same month of June, the President’s committee
decided that the new bomb should be dropped on a Japanese city. This would be a
demonstration of the bomb on a civil and military target. As “demonstration” it
would be a kind of a “show.” “Civilians” all over the world love a good “show.”
The “destructive” aspect of the bomb would be “military.”
6: The same committee also asked if America’s friendly ally,
the Soviet Union, should be informed of the atomic bomb. Someone suggested that
this information would make the Soviet Union even more friendly than it was
already. But all finally agreed that the Soviet Union was now friendly enough.
8: When they bombed Hiroshima they would put the following
out of business: the Ube Nitrogen Fertilizer Company; the Ube Soda Company; the
Nippon Motor Oil Company; the Sumitoma Chemical Company; the Sumitoma Aluminum
Company, and most of the inhabitants.
9: At this time some atomic scientists protested again,
warning that the use of the bomb in war would tend to make the United States
unpopular. But the President’s committee was by now fully convinced that the
bomb had to be used. Its use would arouse the attention of the Japanese
military class and give them food for thought.
10: Admiral Leahy renewed his declaration that the bomb
would not explode.
11: On the 4th of July, when the United States in displays
of fireworks celebrates its independence from British rule, the British and
Americans agreed together that the bomb ought to be used against Japan.
12: On July 7th the Emperor of Japan pleaded with the Soviet
Government to act as mediator for peace between Japan and the Allies. Molotov
said the question would be “studied.” In order to facilitate this “study”
Soviet troops in Siberia prepared to attack the Japanese. The Allies had, in
any case, been urging Russia to join the war against Japan. However, now that
the atomic bomb was nearly ready, some thought it would be better if the
Russians took a rest.
13: The time was coming for the new bomb to be tested, in
the New Mexico desert. A name was chosen to designate this secret operation. It
was called “Trinity.”
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| Trinity, Alamogordo 1945 |
15: Many who saw the experiment expressed their satisfaction
in religious terms. A semi-official report even quoted a religious book—the New
Testament—“Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.” There was an atmosphere of
devotion. It was a great act of faith. They believed the explosion was
exceptionally powerful.
16: Admiral Leahy, still a “doubting Thomas,” said that the
bomb would not explode when dropped from a plane over a city. Others may have
had “faith,” but he had his own variety of “hope.”
17: On July 21st a full written report of the explosion
reached President Truman at Potsdam. The report was documented by pictures.
President Truman read the report and looked at the pictures before starting out
for the conference. When he left his mood was jaunty and his step was light.
18: That afternoon Mr. Stimson called on Mr. Churchill, and
laid before him a sheet of paper bearing a code message about the successful
test. The message read “Babies satisfactorily born.” Mr. Churchill was quick to
realize that there was more in this than met the eye. Mr. Stimson satisfied his
legitimate curiosity.
19: On this same day sixty atomic scientists who knew of the
test signed a petition that the bomb should not be used against Japan without a
convincing warning and an opportunity to surrender.
At this time the U.S.S. Indianapolis, which had left San
Francisco on the 18th, was sailing toward the Island of Tinian, with some U 235
in a lead bucket. The fissionable material was about the size of a softball,
but there was enough for one atomic bomb. Instructions were that if the ship
sank, the uranium was to be saved first, before any life. The mechanism of the
bomb was on board the U.S.S. Indianapolis, but it was not yet assembled.
20: On July 26th the Potsdam declaration was issued. An
ultimatum was given to Japan: “Surrender unconditionally or be destroyed.”
Nothing was said about the new bomb. But pamphlets dropped all over Japan
threatened “an enormous air bombardment” if the army would not surrender. On
July 26th the U.S.S. Indianapolis arrived at Tinian and the bomb was delivered.
21: On July 28th, since the Japanese High Command wished to
continue the war, the ultimatum was rejected. A censored version of the
ultimatum appeared in the Japanese press with the comment that it was “an
attempt to drive a wedge between the military and the Japanese people.” But the
Emperor continued to hope that the Russians, after “studying” his proposal,
would help to negotiate a peace. On July 3Oth Mr. Stimson revised a draft of
the announcement that was to be made after the bomb was dropped on the Japanese
target. The statement was much better than the original draft.
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| Assembly of Little Boy, Tinian 1945 |
23: On August 2nd President Truman was the guest of His
Majesty King George VI on board the H.M.S. Renown in Plymouth Harbor. The
atomic bomb was praised. Admiral Leahy, who was present, declared that the bomb
would not work. His Majesty George VI offered a small wager to the contrary.
24: On August 2nd a special message from the Japanese
Foreign Minister was sent to the Japanese Ambassador in Moscow. “It is
requested that further efforts be exerted. . . . Since the loss of one day may
result in a thousand years of regret, it is requested that you immediately have
a talk with Molotov.” But Molotov did not return from Potsdam until the day the
bomb fell.
25: On August 4th the bombing crew on Tinian watched a movie
of “Trinity” (the Alamogordo Test). August 5th was a Sunday but there was
little time for formal worship. They said a quick prayer that the war might end
“very soon.” On that day, Col. Tibbetts, who was in command of the B-29 that
was to drop the bomb, felt that his bomber ought to have a name. He baptized it
Enola Gay, after his mother in Iowa. Col. Tibbetts was a well-balanced man, and
not sentimental. He did not have a nervous breakdown after the bombing, like
some of the other members of the crew.
26: On Sunday afternoon “Little Boy” was brought out in
procession and devoutly tucked away in the womb of Enola Gay. That evening few
were able to sleep. They were as excited as little boys on Christmas Eve.
27: At 1:37 A.M. August 6th the weather scout plane took
off. It was named the Straight Flush, in reference to the mechanical action of
a water closet. There was a picture of one, to make this evident.
28: At the last minute before taking off, Col. Tibbetts
changed the secret radio call sign from “Visitor” to “Dimples.” The Bombing
Mission would be a kind of flying smile.
29: At 2:45 A.M. Enola Gay got off the ground with
difficulty. Over Iwo Jima she met her escort, two more B-29s, one of which was
called the Great Artiste. Together they proceeded to Japan.
30: At 6:40 they climbed to 31,000 feet, the bombing
altitude. The sky was clear. It was a perfect morning.
31: At 8:09 they reached Hiroshima and started the bomb run.
The city was full of sun. The fliers could see the green grass in the gardens.
No fighters rose up to meet them. There was no flak. No one in the city
bothered to take cover.
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| Hiroshima, mid-August 1945 |
33: The men in the plane perceived that the raid had been
successful, but they thought of the people in the city and they were not
perfectly happy. Some felt they had done wrong. But in any case they had obeyed
orders. “It was war.”
34: Over the radio went the code message that the bomb had
been successful: “Visible effects greater than Trinity. . . . Proceeding to
Papacy.” Papacy was the code name for Tinian.
35: It took a little while for the rest of Japan to find out
what had happened to Hiroshima. Papers were forbidden to publish any news of
the new bomb. A four-line item said that Hiroshima had been hit by incendiary
bombs and added: “It seems that some damage was caused to the city and its
vicinity.”
36: Then the military governor of the Prefecture of
Hiroshima issued a proclamation full of martial spirit. To all the people
without hands, without feet, with their faces falling off, with their
intestines hanging out, with their whole bodies full of radiation, he declared:
“We must not rest a single day in our war effort. . . . We must bear in mind
that the annihilation of the stubborn enemy is our road to revenge.” He was a
professional soldier.
37: On August 8th Molotov finally summoned the
Japanese Ambassador. At last neutral Russia would give an answer to the
Emperor’s inquiry. Molotov said coldly that the Soviet Union was declaring war
on Japan.
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| Nagasaki, mid-August 1945 |
39: Even then the soviet troops thought they ought to fight
in Manchuria “just a little longer.” They felt that even though they could not,
at this time, be of help in Japan, it would be worthwhile if they displayed
their good will in Manchuria or even in Korea.
40: As to the Original Child that was now born, President
Truman summed up the philosophy of the situation in a few words. “We found the
bomb” he said “and we used it.”
41: Since that summer many other bombs have been “found.”
What is going to happen? At the time of writing, after a season of brisk
speculation, men seem to be fatigued by the whole question.
RELATED POSTS
RELATED POSTS
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| Hiroshima, mid-morning, August 6th 1945 |
This post offers a remembrance of the atomic slayings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. It carries embedded audio of an edited version of a talk given by Setsuko Thurlow at the University of London in March 2017. She was 13 years of old and living in Hiroshima at the time of the explosion of the obscenely named Little Boy.
Setsuko Thurlow is one of the few remaining living witnesses of the horror unleashed in the city on the morning of August 6th 1945 and describes with both difficult and poignancy what occurred at ground level on the morning of that terrible day. Her life-long efforts for the cause of peace and disarmament were honoured in December 2017 when she received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
