In the bleak midwinter Petrov did forestall, Smoke would block our sunlight, Though it be mid-fall. New York in desolation, Moscow too, In the bleak midwinter We so nearly knew. Computers blinked a warning, Missiles on their way, But Petrov chose to question What the screens did say. Had he sounded the alarm, War would soon unfold, Cities turned to ashes Ev'ry night so cold. Toxic clouds looming, Ash would fill the air, Fields would yield no harvest, Famine everywhere. Radiation poisoning, Sickness spreading wide, Children weeping, starving, With no place to hide. But thanks to Petrov's wisdom Spring will yet appear, Petrov defied orders; and reason conquered fear. So we sing his story, his deed we keep in mind; From the bleak midwinter He saved humankind.