all that bombs can do is kill
by Ralph Hutchison
all that bombs can do is kill
and break and ruin and destroy
they can burn and they can poison
they can frighten and terrorize
they can corrupt and twist and incinerate
that is all they can do
bombs can not sing
they can not harmonize
they can not draw a bow across strings
bombs can not draw
they can not sketch a building
coriander or a flower
or a horse running in a pasture
bombs can not plant seeds or pull weeds
they can not lay color on canvas
they can not make a promise or keep it
they can not give birth to children
bombs can not laugh
they can not tell a joke or say thank you
they can not weep when it is time to leave
they can not hold an acceptance letter above their heads with a shout
they can not throw a child into the air, catch her whirling around, listening to her laugh full throated with delight
bombs can not design a flyer or a house plan or a building
they can’t design wall paper
or a textile print
or a monument
or a font
they can’t design anything
they only can design nothing
bombs can not cook
they can burn things, but they can’t make pad thai
or create a salty broth from scraps
or sauté mushrooms in butter and garlic
they can not steam rice or bake bread
oh, bombs can surprise
falling on your head in the night
spearing through the air faster than you can hear
launched by predator drones
bombs can surprise
but not like a puppy in a box on your birthday,
not like a small velvet box sitting on the dinner plate when you return to the table
not like the feel of your baby on your breast
bombs can not surprise like that
oh, bombs can make noise
they can whistle as they fall
they can shatter your eardrums just before they kill you
they can make your mother cry out just before she dies
they can make your brother sob all night long for weeks
they can make your neighbor groan as they try to lift the beam from his chest
bombs can not sing happy birthday
or chant na mu myo ho ren ge kyo
or sing be thou my vision
or whisper treasure of my life, crazy on you at bedtime
bombs can not say they have a dream
bombs can not write books
bombs can not compose
bombs can not make light except for an instant
bombs take away light and sound, vision and touch
bombs kill and destroy; they maim; they cause pain unendurable
bombs subtract, they never add
bombs lie, they never tell the truth
bombs are against, they are never for
bombs are despair, they are never hope
bombs fall, they never rise