I stood, unseen, as the lights faltered and I heard a heavy thud. A wave rushed through me. My friend, out of reach, disappeared. Vapour. The ceiling was gone - stars, stars. I couldn't feel anything, it was all normal. Then, the ***** came. It burned all down my throat into my stomach, bitter bile tearing me apart from the inside out. I couldn't walk. Local hospital, apparently I had a 50/50 chance. They filmed me for evidence and I killed them in the process. Cancerous. I was shipped to Moscow, my wife being left in the dark. Confidential. Contagious. Dangerous. The ones who died were lucky, we were burning alive from the inside out. My hair fell from my body. My skin wept after the false calm of nothingness. The dead skin fell off in clouds of black dust, my flesh being eaten and turning a violet black. I can never have *** again, in case I contaminate my wife. No more children. Chromosonal damage. She was afraid to touch me when I saw her again in case she would die too. My skin will weep forever and they call me one of the lucky ones.
~~ A poem about Sasha Yuvchenko's experience in the Chernobyl disaster. ~~