It began with fear, not famine.
What was missing was an understanding
of consequences.
Still, the sky held a blue-white innocence.
It would be many years before light
would become so intense that you could see
your bones through translucent skin.
Silos still held grain, not missiles.
Snow-capped mountains brushed the sky
and held it aloft.
The bomb may have ended the war, but only
if history is read like a distant star.
If only time had not bolted and changed course.
If only the white flags had flown before
the strange storm.
If only the sky had not turned white and aged.
If only there had been one less Einstein
and one more Vonnegut.

Dr. David Krieger is a leader in the global movement to abolish nuclear weapons and build a more peaceful world. He is a founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and has served as president of the Foundation since 1982. Amongst several of his wide-spanning leadership endeavours in global peacebuilding, he is a founder and a member of the Global Council of Abolition 2000, councilor on the World Future Council, and is the chair of the Executive Committee of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility.
Dr. Krieger is the author of many books and studies of peace in the Nuclear Age. He has written or edited more than 20 books. He has also written hundreds of articles and book chapters. He is a recipient of several awards and honours, including the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology Peace Writing Award for Poetry (2010).