A Blast From the Past
KABOOM!
When we are apprised
of sensational news,
“it’s dynamite”, we say
and think of the blast
that explosive makes
while everything in its path
Is blown to smithereens.
We could have done without
this pernicious invention
that, with good intentions,
Alfred Nobel made.
Meant to stabilise
volatile nitroglycerine,
a destructive monster ensued.
He professed to be
a dedicated pacifist
but still he did not stop
the production and sale
of military weapons.
Accused of profiteering
he eventually made amends.
In his will he set aside
the bulk of his estate
to award five annual prizes
to those who have conferred
the most benefit to mankind
in the fields of sciences,
of literature and peace.
If I had the power to undo
the discovery of dynamite
with its deadly detonations
would the world be safer?
It’d be a drop in the ocean
as TNT has been supplemented
with nuclear warheads
© Luigi Pagano 2021
)
© ionicus 2023
Views: 557
How true, Luigi. What an eye opener, eh? My day, today, is filled with thought provoking poems such as this. I still maintain, though, that a drop in the ocean still causes a change – even if (metaphorically speaking) it is only an infinitesimal enlargement of the mass.
Allen
Let’s hope that the optimism is justified, Allen.
It isn’t blind optimism, Luigi, believe me.
I do understand, Allen, that it isn’t blind optimism but a genuine hope to see that the effort by concerned people to ameliorate the state of the world is successful.
My concern is that, given the conflicts that rage in various regions of this planet, the task is that much harder.