Antony Owen
The Last Hibakusha
After Sueko
I see her bent from old age
the archipelago of her spine
aglow in zombified light of long dead stars.
This night she will obey her rituals
recalling her face in black puddles
how atomic rain turned the river mauve.
I see her fireball tattoos in cling film
mercurochrome fusing the keloids
a dragon slayer of shedding skin.
When the last Hibakusha dies
curled wick-like into her oils
I hope they bury her facing the stars.
“‘The Last Hibakusha’ is inspired by testimonies of atomic bomb survivors I took in Hiroshima 2015 and over a decade of research.” —Antony Owen
Antony Owen is a peace activist from Coventry, UK and was one of the first peace education patrons for CND UK. His work spans nine collections of poetry and translations in several languages. His book The Nagasaki Elder was shortlisted for The Ted Hughes Award for new work in poetry. Broken Sleep Books will publish his New & Selected poems Post Atomic Glossaries in 2024.