Monday, February 24, 2025

Special Feature: Selected Poems for the Third Anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. ... you've been there for three years,... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.

The Convicted Felon Donald Trump criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Feb. 18. NBC News

And

Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of the full-scale war against Ukraine: a painful and shameful occasion for all of humanity! ...I renew my solidarity with the martyred Ukrainian people

As I renew my solidarity with the martyred Ukrainian people," the Pope reminded, "I invite you to remember the victims of all armed conflicts and to pray for the gift of peace in Palestine, Israel, and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu, and in Sudan.



My Dear Readers:

I would like to share with you some of my published poems for reflections on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

a teen's hands
touching her mother's ...
the train window
dis/connects their hearts        
broken by blasts in Kyiv


two teenagers
hold hands on the Polish side
of the border
their farther's V sign
as he drives back to Kyiv


every day
passes in an endless stream
of breaking news
in a huddle of children
the blind boy quiet ... quieter

Gusts, 36, Fall/Winter 2022

silhouetted
against bombed-out condos
a pink-haired girl
plays Cello Suite No. 5
before soul-tired neighbours


Independence 

"Dear Chen-ou, I hope this email finds you well. Share with you my family photo, which was taken this glorious morning." 

In the photo, my friend, his wife and two daughters, wrapping themselves in the flags of blue and yellow, stand with arms linked before a row of rusty Russian tanks on Liberation Square. 

My friend used to be a Surrealist poet, known for his purposeful use of "obscure and unwieldy verbiage." He sent me the following poem at the end of his lengthy and furious email a week after the Russian invasion.

in smoky twilight
the head of I cut off
the roof of M falling through --
I paint poetry with screams, 
the last phase of lyricism

His emails now are short and straight to the point, and often attached with photos to speak for his mood or state of mind, like the one he sent me today. Under his family photo, there is a caption that reads:

If Russia stops fighting, there will be no more war.
If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no more us.

no man's land 
between barbed wire fences
the kraa-kraa-kraa 
of ravens scratching 
at the soldiers' hearts

Ribbons, 19:3, Fall 2023

no water
no heating, no internet
no Russians either ...
in the morning chill a sea
of blue-and-yellow flags


another year
amidst screaming sirens ...
sunflowers
on the bomb shelter wall
no longer noticed


my Kyiv friends and I
tiptoe around the jagged edge
of sorrow
at last the silence
envelopes each of us



To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you courageous American Ukrainians' and their friends'/supporters' response to the Convicted Felon's/Putin Pleaser's  nonsense remark on Russia's invasion of Ukraine 

On the Brink of Trumperica, XVI

wave after wave
of blue-and-yellow flags
in bitter cold
atop the White House Fencing
a hand-drawn sunflower

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