The darkness fell upward toward hot gamma dust
Engulfing the present in a glowering wave
Burning the earth with a misuse of trust
From man from the office to man from a cave

The dust fell cool on an unbalanced earth
Coating old promises which died in the yard
Distorting the grin of sardonic mirth
Which lay amid ruins in pieces and shards

The dawn lifted gently from boulder and scrub
Belaying the day of civilized pasts
And an earthen bound man with stubble and club
Made his home near a nuclear blast