ORVILLE WRIGHT AND THE BOMB

by Joshua Preston

 

“I have never been a strong advocate of bombing from aeroplanes. I certainly would not like to see the Allies adopt the German’s barbarous policy of dropping bombs among the civilians where no military advantage is to be gained.”   

— Letter dated August 1, 1917

“I once thought the aeroplane would end wars. I now wonder whether the aeroplane and the atomic bomb can do it. It seems that ambitious rulers will sacrifice the lives and property of all their people to gain a little personal fame.”

— Letter dated August 28, 1946

 

Feet above the ground, the man who
first drifted across the field lived
to see his work soar even higher.

Head in the clouds, what it must be
to see a toy become an instrument,
later, the whole ocean a pond.

Looking up and out, what it must be
to see in a single light (or two)

the whole world grow smaller
          and smaller
                    like the long fall
                    and the flash;

One lifetime to see the conquering
of the skies,
          the distance,
                    and
from the skies,
          across the distance,
                    a people.

With such high hopes
& a young man’s dream
     how prophetic
     an empty field looks
          in bright sunshine.

 

 

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