The Pripyat They Remember

Was full of life

One of the best places

to live in the USSR

the amusment park

set to be dedicated on May Day

it would never open.

A night like any other

Until awoken

their lives flashing before their eyes

Literally

when buses finally came

They left for 'three days'

Never to return

Lives upended

by faulty reactor design

the lack of a containment building

slowly fading to obscurity

memories brought up

when radiation dose

causes reaction to the dye

used in TB testing

A government based

on lies and secrecy

blaming operators

Who were the best in the country

Set to get awards

and promotions

Attempting a test

No one else would do

They were set up for failure

Dyatlov cites the rulebook

They did nothing wrong

but this is distorted by Soviet lies

The remnants of the Soviet secret city,

Pripyat?

Reclaimed by nature