The Diameter of the Bomb

“The Diameter of the Bomb” is a lyric poem written by Yehuda Amichai. It was published in 1976 in his third book of poetry, Time. The poem’s elegant, accessible, and somber style was inspired by Modern poets such as Ted Hughes and W. H. Auden, as well as Amichai’s study of Hebrew literature and the Bible during his childhood and young adulthood. The poem was translated from Hebrew into English by Amichai and Ted Hughes. It is an anti-war poem with clear and simple diction that employs technical language to describe a bomb from a scientific viewpoint, creating a sense of false comfort in relation to war. The poet then subverts this understanding of war in the subsequent lines, amplifying the emotional consequences of the bombing by showing the consequences of the bombing on the world as a whole. The poem does not refer to any particular bombing or war but rather seeks to capture a universal, non-specific bombing. This poem is one of Amichai’s many poems that decry violence and condemn any who believe that war is justified in the name of peace.