lucille lang day
THE PRODUCT IS SAFE
The manufacturer's
representatives say
a child could throw it
against
a wall, or drop it off the
roof,
and it wouldn't break.
In fact, it's guaranteed
to be found smooth and
shiny
in the wreckage of a
plane.
But used as directed
it will vaporize cities.
Whole populations will
disappear.
The sky will turn orange.
Even watching from a
distance
will melt your eyes
and turn your skin to ash.
Then the sky will turn
black
and all the flowers
will return to the earth,
their petals falling in
darkness
amid the troubled
breathing
of the last warm-bodied
creatures
to crouch
in the snow.
"The Product Is Safe" is a response to a panel
discussion held at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the safety(!) of
nuclear bombs.
lucille lang day’s most recent poetry collection is Infinities (cedar hill
publications, 2002). the founder and director of Scarlet Tanager Books, she has
been writing poetry since 1971.