Give Me Back Father
In the second and third stanzas, the speaker demands the return of humanity and enduring peace—presumably an ideal of peace that existed in the pre-nuclear age. Although the city did not experience air war until the morning of August 6, 1945, Hiroshima and all of its residents had experienced the extreme demands of Total War during the years that lead up to that day. The power of Tōge’s poem lies in the urgency and emotion evoked by the straightforward use of apostrophe, repetition and economical language. The themes of loss and separation would have resonated with many readers so soon after the World War.