September 2024
Every Nuclear Family is Radioactive in Its Own Way
inspired by the card "Judgment" and news of nuclear waste
From Thomas Wright, "An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe," 1750.
From Thomas Wright, "An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe," 1750.
To Michigan landfills go Manhattan’s radioactive rubble,
nuclear secrets suspended in soil, byproducts
of our parents’ fission. Back when
they played God. Decided to create
this chain reaction. They say
ours is the only body
capable of containment. We’ll be safe
or safe enough. But bodies
leak, and secrets too. What is frozen
later thaws. Who knows what treasons
I’ll commit when someone asks
what happened long ago
in that silent and unhappy house?
writer's note
inspired by the tarot card of Judgment, though I took things in a very different direction. It really is true, the Wayne County landfill is prepared to accept nuclear waste from a Manhattan Project facility in New York state.