poem
Volume 31, Number 4

A Question of Focus

In 1956 the United States government 
exploded nuclear bombs of 20 & 30 kilotons yield
in the Nevada desert.

In pursuit of knowledge
they placed bottles and cans of beer
in singles and multi-packs
sometimes atop the ground and 
sometimes buried shallowly underground 
and at a variety of distances from Ground Zero.
The closest beers were barely 400 yards 
from the explosions.

Afterward, the beer was found 
to be slightly radioactive, but drinkable
and it was reported that the beer
tasted good.


—Herb Kauderer