Reactor

One wall features your obituary.
I didn’t need to tell them your story.

The last name you built follows me,
from Westinghouse
to the Skipjack series,
all the way to Penn State.

"This is Cerenkov radiation," they told me.
The great blue flash illuminated the pool,
the water that hugged the rods.

I got to witness the pulse-excited heartbeat
of the reactor as it woke up that morning.
I see why this fascinated you.

"Do you want to see your grandfather's last log?"
She asked me.
Your handwriting always was a little tough.

“So help me God, I’ll be back!”
Your scribbles boomed.
Intimidating, but I know you were teasing.
I’m sure your voice carried around the reactor, too.

I bet you’d sit around in your blue pajamas here if you could.

I’m sorry I’m not an engineer.
I am a nuclear meltdown.

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Written fall 2008 but always on my brain.

Go learn something! "A is for Atom"