The citizens heard static
and sensed the radiation.

The church closed its doors.
Everyone isolated at home.

Semlohsa Moht cut out his left eye.
The tendrils dangled and glowed.

He pushed them in his ears, then nose.
He pointed one at his good pupil.

He saw a woman paint
in a cave. He saw paramecium

and a dream he once had
about finding his lover

as bombs and buildings fell.
He saw his birth mother.

He witnessed the first explosion
and the just before – a seed

smaller than an electron.
It had no place or time.

A fat man appeared
playing chess with a little boy.

Checkmate was a move away.
Moht straightened his tendrils.

He went outside without a mask.
He climbed to the top of the tree

and sharpened his axe.