I stood upon the open ground

And felt the earth tremble.

Then like a train, a roaring sound

At first a whispered rumble.

Raced on to me with gathering pace

And, like a hand invisible,

Shook the buildings, bent the trees

And filled the air with dusty haze.

Cars pushing down a sudden hill

Silent, riderless by alien hand.

Then, just as soon, a sudden still

Until the wailing of a human band.

Crashed beneath the broken stores,

Poured despair from tortured lungs.

"God save my baby! Save my soul".

There rose the cries of thousands.

In that littered, desperate place

And rose to screams of agony.

Where flames burst out

Burnt the flesh and ate the souls,

For whom no resume would take place.

I looked and saw

Nuclear war.

The hand of God

Is mightier still

To save my spirit and my soul. D Patel

Upper Lees Drive, Westhoughton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.