August 6, 1945, World War II – The U.S. B-29 Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 70,000 people died instantly, thousands died from burns, and more died over the following years from radiation. The date is commemorated by the Hiroshima Peace Ceremony & Peace Message Lantern Floating in Japan, and as Hiroshima Day in the U.S. and UK.

SankichiTōge (1917 – 1953) was a Japanese poet, activist, and survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. His collection “Poems of the Atomic Bomb” was published in 1951. Karen Thornber is a recipient of the 2011 Sibley Prize from the University of Chicago for her translation of his collection.

To read the poem “August 6” by Sankichi Tōge click: