Playground turf or nation
must always be defended.
Best always to win.
Tag Archives: UKRAINE
HOPE STREET
Where does hope begin or end?
Hope is not a one-way street, I know.
Hope folds back upon itself and those
who travel its streets come and go.
Hope gets caught up in the dark fold
and holds its breath until the street unfolds
where freedom lights and warms the soul
and breath can find its rhythm again.
Wins and losses racing down these streets
means little on this stretch where war has taken hold.
the streets of Harkiv, Cherniv, Chernobyl,
Kyiv, Lviv, and Mariupol and the many towns
and villages along the way show us hope
passed this way on its way to war and back again.
Bodies lying twisted on Ukrainian streets
executed and abandoned show hope passed through
on its way to our own streets, to our own end.
Hope folds back again and again and again
until our streets meet Ukrainian streets,
util our humanity meets in the streets everywhere,
until we discover all streets meet end-to-end.
Our hopes fold and unfold together on the road
to war and peace, to evil or good, to hatred or love.
Where does hope begin or end?
With each of us.
NEGOTIATION
Eyes in the back of the head.
Negotiations with liars.
False flags of intent.
Time ill spent?
Honor builds trust.
Honor’s cup was emptied.
Not so long ago we forget.
Chechnya, Syria,Georgia
Ukraine.
Fill the cup with honor first ,
Else we drink
from a poisoned cup.
Do not wait, nor hesitate
to defend against war
delayed not ended.
Eyes wide open.
Filed under POETRY
GAWKING UKRAINE
Gawkers run to scenes
which stir the blood.
Existential fear draws them on
and eases their souls.
For a moment they
forget they are always
alone.
Always, in all ways.
Finding companionship
wherever they may,
they push loneliness away
and hide their fear
in jeers and cheers.
Sincerity is often lost
in their witnessed strife,
so much a part of life.
Watching without charity
while claiming solidarity
with those who suffer
is never enough to unite us,
to overcome our aloneness.
Those who suffer await more
than witnessing and words.
Action speaks louder than words.
Weapons speak louder during war.
Zelensky clearly explains
“I need ammunition, not a ride.”
He humbly sets aside pride
to admit what we all know.
He is alone,
like all Ukrainians,
like each of us.
Opening boundaries
among nations and hearts
is a good start.
We will remain alone
no matter how much we gawk
unless we do more to atone,
more to end suffering and war
we will always stand alone.
Filed under POETRY
BRAVE ACTS
Brave acts brave histories make
of men and women, and nations
united untidily, unrepentantly
but bravely.
Too seldom we see such as this
in nations guided by bliss
following trade’s path
toward profit and math.
Adding up cash into power is not bad.
What one does with such power can be
if labor and neighbor are pushed into slavery
because leaders lack bravery.
Ukraine is but a symptom of harm
long passed on to the poor and powerless
in whatever nation they reside.
We need more bravery and fairness
and less cowardice
before we move on
to tomorrow’s news.
Filed under POETRY
SEND IN THE PLANES
It is uncomfortable.
It causes pain.
Is it insane?
or, is there a good reason
to refrain
from sending in the planes?
Watching a fight
from the sidelines
is no way to win the bout.
Democracy must win.
Never doubt.
Planes sit on tarmacs
as children die
in the arms of the wounded.
It is uncomfortable
to watch their pain.
Send in the planes!
Filed under POETRY
Angel Prayer
Do angels fear to tread
Mariupol‘s streets
lined with the dead?
Who else will guard
the skies that bled
upon her living souls ?
A single prayer is said,
asking skies to close
and ease the dread
of more to fall and fail
than bodies.
Listen well, angels of Ukraine.
Speak to angels everywhere
and pass along the prayer,
lest dictators leave their stain
on centuries of despair,
on the streets of Ukraine
and elsewhere.
Filed under POETRY
Wheat and War
Bread is life.
Ukrainian wheat
Feeds the world.
Fields plowed.
Seed sowed
While bombs fall
On fertile earth
Watered now
By chemical rain?
War kills.
Not for hours,
Nor days and weeks;
But, for months and years
Or even decades.
Another Chernobyl looms
Over wheat fields
And their children,
Young and old,
Hungry and waiting.
I grow cold
Fearing more, contemplating
Famine and war.
Filed under POETRY
JUST BREATHE
Wiser heads than mine
Form a summit line,
G-7, EU, NATO.
Titles matter not.
Nor names.
Smiling nods in greeting
Begins their meeting
While phosphorous bombs
Drop fires no one can put out.
Ukrainians await the word
Which assures they can endure.
Europe holds it breath
On the front lines of its defense.
Do not hold your breath too long.
That way lies death; not just
For Ukraine, but for all of us.
Hopes rise and once again
We fear the lateness of the hour
As Russia tries to devour
Ukrainians holding tight to freedom
On the outskirts of Western Democracies.
We plead, just breathe!
Breathe support and protection.
Stop holding your breath.
Just breathe!
Just breathe!
Filed under POETRY
