Mayday in Kiev

In a nation for a dangerous penchant for secrecy
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
shower of radiation
Children iodized
Mayday - day of rejoice
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

Alert - Celebration in Kiev
Under glowing skies - Soviet lies
Alert - In nearby Poland
shower of radiation
Children iodized
Mayday - day of rejoice
cry of distress

"The unleashed power of the atom..." - warning from the past
The benefits of technology are reversed by careless human error
Science, once a saviour, now an effective destroyer
We must apply our knowledge with care

Entombed in concrete, Chernobyl will forever remain
monument to the chilling effects of negligence

Alert - Celebration in Kiev
Under glowing skies - Soviet lies
Alert - In nearby Poland
shower of radiation
Children iodized
Mayday - day of rejoice
cry of distress