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Notes After Seeing the Atomic Cafe

Dianna Black

“duck and cover”
duck and cover turtles that showed
children how.

ducks
ducks
ducks covered with burned feathers

Ground Zero:
the point on the surface
of the earth
In white sands,
men walked toward
it,
green badges glowing
red.

or of the water

Move the bikinis out.
Ships like miniature
matchbox toys
full of miniature
people

watch
it
rise.

directly above,

below,

This is the story of the three
little moles—
papa mole, mama mole, baby mole—
who spent their lives
wrapped in concrete mortar and bricks
under the ground
eating shards of shattered glass
saying:
“I’d say we came out pretty good.”

or at which an atomic or hydrogen bomb
explodes.