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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN#/ ISBN# issue/book “Too Many Humans & Not Enuf Souls” cc&d, v307 (the March 2021 issue) Order the 6"x9" paperback book:

Order this writing in the book What Lies on the Other Side the cc&d Jan.-April 2021 magazine issues collection book		get the 424 page Jan.-April 2021 cc&d magazine 6" x 9" ISBN# perfect-bound paperback book:

Ode #2 to the Zero

Kenneth DiMaggio

A few minutes before
a lone B-29 bomber finishes
its mission above the city of Hiroshima
was someone still brushing their teeth?
was a soldier leaving his girlfriend
to report back to a war?

At the department meeting
the latest statistics reveal
a further decline in our students’
reading and writing skills

Oh disregard all of the above
None of it is true!
All of our children are geniuses
And if I had any kids
mine would be too!

But today the sky above
Hartford is empty which
means we will have to talk
about English-as-a-Second
Language when English
is not even a first language
—it’s just an advertisement

Is it a few minutes after
the Enola Gay flies away?

A fiery mushroom cloud
blossoming behind it

Ahead of it
a family proudly
beholding their recently
built bungalow with
several plastic pink flamingos
posted on the lawn
and staring back at them

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