«The unleashed power of the atom changed everything
Save our mode of thinking, and we thus drift toward
Unparalleled catastrophes.»
— Albert Einstein
In a nation for a dangerous penchant for secrecy
A dread disaster at Chernobyl was concealed
As a poisoning cloud spread over the Eastern Bloc
Alarming information was reluctantly revealed
An explosion in Reactor Four — a fire refusing to cease
No containment walls preventing radioactive release
Evidence that peaceful technology had gone awry
More catastrophically than Windscale or TMI
Alert — Celebration in Kiev
Under glowing skies — Soviet lies
Alert — In nearby Poland
A shower of radiation
Children iodized
Mayday — A day of rejoice
A cry of distress
Severe political fallout — toxic exchange of words
Soviet obscurantism under verbal attack
Abroad, outraged countries appeal for information
Met with grudging riposte, hesitant placation
At home, TASS reports no danger — nothing to fear
As deadly elemental isotopes spew into the biosphere
«The unleashed power of the atom …» — A warning from the past
The benefits of technology are reversed by careless human error