Archive
07/04/08
"Dirty Bombs"
At least since 9/11, America's public has lived with a heightened paranoia Of having "dirty bombs" explode in its cities,
Irradiating vast urban areas, Causing populations to evacuate, for fifty, a hundred, years, Perhaps scattering them forever.
But what appears to have gone completely unnoticed To all but a handful of chemists Are the inordinately high levels of toxic particulates
Emitted into the air, falling to earth, into rivers, Whenever fireworks are ignited, As they are, in swarms, this Independence Day night,
In villages and megalopolises across the nation — Our way of saluting Old Glory, Pyrotechnically venerating the red, white, and blue,
Causing respiratory and cardiovascular havoc (Asthma, heart attacks, coughing, sore throats, burning eyes), For those attending the displays.
After all, black gunpowder, used to launch shells, Gives off atrocious, unavoidable amounts of carbon particles That inflame bronchioles and alveoli, settle in the lungs.
And as for those dazzling colors that spray from skyrockets, They exist only as by-products of poisonous metals And the hormone-altering oxidizer perchlorate —
A nasty admixture, which, after the girandoles fade, Continues to do its insidious business, hunts us down, In the air we breathe, food we eat, water we drink.
This is why I've protected myself as best I can, Staying at a safe distance, Doing my celebrating vicariously, in front of the TV,
Hoping that, one day, we'll wise up, Heed Homeland Security's national threat level, Realizing that we're the "dirty bombers" in our midst.
07/04/08
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