They wondered if that first explosion, named for the godhead,
Might ignite the entire atmosphere.
But they did it anyway.

They knew that detonating hundreds of bombs in the desert of Nevada would spread the poison westward, across this beautiful land,
From the red sands of the south to the stark canyons of the north
And far beyond our borders across the entire nation.

They knew that snow, rain, hail and sleet
Would carry the poison to Earth,
Where it would silently course through our bodies
Making untold numbers of us sick, leaving us to bury the dead,
With fewer and fewer of us — the evidence they can’t erase — left to bear witness.

They knew they were poisoning us
But they did it anyway.