“Try to look. Just try and see.” —Charlotte Delbo
Beau Beausoleil is a poet and activist who has written this series of poems in response to the unprovoked, immoral, and illegal war on Ukraine launched by Vladimir Putin and maintained by those who fear him. Beausoleil sees little difference between this colonialist invasion and the invasion of Iraq by President Bush. While civilians in Iraq and Ukraine are killed with a cruel casual indifference, the perpetrators receive laurels in place of the shame they deserve.
Beausoleil writes in the spirit of the dancer/choreographer Pina Bausch: “Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost!” His poems are written in the spirit of Charlotte Delbo, the WWII French Resistance fighter and survivor of Auschwitz who wrote, “Try to look. Just try and see.” He has written this series of poems for Ukraine because he is a poet, and this is what poets do. He believes that during troubled times poetry can protect the imagination of an entire country.
Here is a link to Beau’s reading on May 5, 2022 at Bird & Beckett Books in San Francisco of some of these poems: https://www.facebook.com/bird.and.beckett/videos/565125975006866
We are seeking a publisher for a selection of these poems in book form. Contact overlandbooks@earthlink.net.
Beau’s poems stand in witness to some of the most immoral acts of our time. In addition to IN UKRAINE: POEMS, two other series appear in the MPP Digital Poetry Series: War News and Poems for George Floyd. In 2019, Moving Parts Press published a letterpress edition of Beau’s book, The Long Distance.
Find more from the MPP Digital Poetry Series here.
In Ukraine
Birds
have
begun
to
sing
to
tanks
trying
to
coax
them
back
into
their
heart
less
nests
While
at a
nearby
table
the
tyrant
salts
his
eggs
with
blood
February 22, 2022
In
Ukraine
Your heart
as always
labors to
move you
back
to when
there was
peace
but finds
no way
to shift
the
bloody
landscape
wrapping
itself
around
your
country
except
in your
absent
dreams
February 25, 2022
In
Ukraine
Ordinary
people
are
in
the
street
throwing
words
at Death
who rides
a Russian
tank
These
people
may
die
but
not
before
they
keep
living
in
their
country
that
continues
to sing
as it
weeps
February 25, 2022
In
Ukraine
Instead of
suddenly
having to
leave
their country
with their
mothers
holding
them closer
than ever
before
Instead
of dying
under an
incoming
missile or
a stray
bullet
These
children
only wish
for the
normal
sounds
of night
And a
chance
the next
morning
to go out
and play
February 28, 2022
Some Of
Putin’s
Reasons
1.
Ukraine
has for
generations
blocked
sunlight
that historically
belongs to
Russia
2.
Ukrainian
automobiles
have been
parked at
angles that
Russia
rightly
considers
threatening
3.
Ukrainian
poets
have
repeatedly
written
poems
that include
images of the
moon which
as it is
well known
belongs by
patriotic
state
decree
to Russia
4.
Despite
being given
more than
enough
irrational
Soviet
reasons
to admit
defeat
the Ukrainians
continue to
resist
February 28, 2022
In
Ukraine
The
bodies
of those
being
killed
in their
everyday
landscape
were not
usually
to be
found
in the
company
of their
grandchildren
but that
has changed
March 1, 2022
In
Ukraine
You
must
be
tired
of
God
weeping
in your
doorways
You must
be tired
of waiting
for the
avenging
Angels
of love
You must
be tired
on each
forsaken
night
to have
to fight
using
only
your
own
lullaby
song
to calm
your
children
and keep
at bay
the mortal
wounds
that now
surround
you
March 2, 2022
In
Ukraine
One
doesn’t
need
a news
feed
in the
Ukraine
one can
read the
news
on the
body
parts
strewn
about
in the
rubble
of its
cities
And one
can watch
the nightly
news
in the
eyes
of their
terrified
children
whose
gaze
holds
all the
terror
that we
cannot
bear
to read
about
March 3, 2022
Vladimir
Putin
If you
felt
an angel
softly
stroke
your
face
if the
one
who
still
beats
you
in your
dreams
went
away
if the
only
one
who
loved
you
was
still
here
If the
clouds
came
apart
and the
hidden
light
filled
your
empty
heart
if God
sang
the
letters
of your
name
so that
you
could
finally
feel safe
and fall
asleep
If you
could
actually
see the
blood
on your
hands
Would you
stop the
killing
now
and not
be so
afraid
of Russia
weeping
for what
you have
done
March 4, 2022
Here
Pushing
the slices
of bread
down
into the
toaster
watching
the sunlight
open the
garden
steaming
coffee in
my red
cup
smoothing
the sour cherry
jam across
the toast
listening
hard to
the fragments
of suffering
on the radio
Later
stepping off
the curb
with my
cane
I look
up
Buying
a latte
and roll
and then
driving to
Rainbow
Grocery
coming
back
up the
stairs
to our
house
looking up
again
at the
shadow
clouds
I cannot
hear any
tanks
coming
up the
street
there
are no
missiles
falling
out of
the sky
to kill
us
March 5, 2022
In
Ukraine
In her
pocket
maybe
a piece
of string
and an
interesting
looking
pebble
maybe
a signed
school
permission
slip
to visit
the museum
What was
in her
body
now
were
hundreds
of pieces
of jagged
metal
One of
those
shards
she might
have liked
for its
odd
shape
and
maybe
without
the war
she might
have
picked
it up
and
put it
in her
other
pocket
March 7, 2022
In
Ukraine
Russian
artillery
units
have
changed
their
coordinates
to exclusively
target
civilians
who by
hiding
or fleeing
or resisting
are prolonging
the war and
their own
suffering
and necessary
death
The
murder
of children
and the
elderly
the death
of mothers
and pregnant
women
is part
of the
unwavering
patriotic
goal of
Putin’s
war to
prevent
genocide
March 10, 2022
Putin’s Speech
To His Troops
You are only
dead for
as long
as you
are alive
and you
are only
alive
for as
long as
you accept
your imminent
violent death
March 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
Let me
take
breath
after
breath
for your
country’s
dead
let me
not turn
away
as your
cities
fall down
below my
backyard
Lie down
I will not
wake you
until all
the small
birds have
fallen
dead
from the
burning
trees
Your
family
will
come
back
your
hands
will
one
day
stop
shaking
You will
never read
these words
but they
carry
a wish
that you
stay alive
as best
you can
March 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
Do you
still write
letters
on the
back of
your poems
Can you
still recite
all the
streets
between
your place
and the
bookstore
even though
they both
no longer
exist
If tears were
the currency
of the dead
you would be
rich beyond
measure
March 16, 2022
In
Ukraine
War first
subtracts
colors and
then isolates
them
A child’s
shoe can be
shockingly yellow
when gathered
up and placed
alongside her
pale quiet body
March 16, 2022
In
Ukraine
I can’t
see
words
in my
poems
anymore
only
lines
of the
dead
and
dying
falling
down
the
page
March 16, 2022
In
Ukraine
1.
How does
one run
when
there are
no safe
directions
left to run
towards
2.
My radio
is asking
who do
I think
will win
for best
picture
at the
Academy
Awards
3.
Maybe
the
way to
flee is
to walk
only under
that part
of the
blue sky
that has
not been
torn away
by Russia
as it fills
your country
with blood
March 17, 2022
In
Ukraine
You
described
(standing in
your debris
filled kitchen)
how it was
morning and
you were
making
a cup of
coffee
in this
very same
kitchen
when the
missile
exploded
down in
the street
below
and then
your windows
blew into
shards
and cut
your
upper
body and
blood
was streaming
down your
face and
your son
(who was
on the
other side
of the
kitchen)
shouted
in terror
ARE YOU
DEAD
and you
shouted
back
NO
and yelled
at
him to
run to the
shelter
Your voice
now was
shaking with
anger
and you
wanted to
show the
camera (all
of us here)
your wounds
so angry that
the Russians
were targeting
civilians (you and
your son)
One of the
camera crew
bandaged
a deep cut
on your arm
and later
on your
stairwell
you held up
a fist to
the camera
in continued
defiance to
those who
would make
your
apartment’s
kitchen
(and your son’s
life and your
life)
a blood-soaked
battleground
March 18, 2022
A Reply
To The Pope
Asking For
Peace
In God’s
Name
First we
worshiped
the Great
Mother
then
(with
the rise of
Patriarchy)
Gods
that
often
wanted
our blood
then a God
of peace
(under whose
banner we
continued
to kill)
and now
we have
a tyrant
whose
death
grip on
the throats
of the
innocent
disfigures
all of
our prayers
for peace
March 13, 2022
In
Ukraine
You don’t
have to
tell me
anything
It’s written
all over
your face
You’ve
lost most
of what
tied you
to your
sense of
reality
You don’t
have to
tell me
what
happened
I can
see it
under the
new snow
drifting
along
the rubble
settling
upon the
bodies
in the
mass graves
March 13, 2022
In
Ukraine
Putin has ordered
that everything
everything
EVERYTHING
be destroyed
that might
resist
(including
inanimate
objects)
his Patriotic
War of
Terror
Murder
and
Subjugation
He expects
and demands
that Ukraine
demilitarize
and denazify
all existing
Arts Organizations
Libraries
Bookstores
and Children’s
Playgrounds
March 19, 2022
One
Ukrainian
Soldier
You are
fighting
on one
of the
roads that
lead to
Kyiv
We understand
completely
that you are
fighting to keep
Ukraine Free
But only
you know
that you
are also
fighting
to keep
hold of
one day in
the autumn
before the
War
You were
on your
way home
and stopped
to watch
a sudden
strong wind
moving
the fallen
leaves together
on this
very same
road
March 20, 2022
In
Ukraine
Putin wants
the notion
of time
to end
and he
demands
the complete
erasure
of any hope
contained
in the word
“tomorrow”
In its place
he wants
one expanding
moment
of unending
terror
infinite
in its
territory
of murder
and fear
March 22, 2022
In
Ukraine
Someone
is writing
to me
in another
invisible ink
I can’t
read the
words but
I can hear
the deep
weeping
even before
I open the
crumpled
envelope
March 22, 2022
In
Ukraine
The
Russian
soldiers
have
turned
into
small
birds
who
cannot
sing
And
the
missiles
and shells
have
turned
into the
limbs
of trees
struck
by winter
light
Maybe after
all of this
the sudden
painful dead
will not
call back
to us
without
mercy
March 23, 2022
At Stow
Lake
Beauty is
the last
thing to
leave us
alone
It’s easier
for me
to spread
the news
paper
out on
the
picnic
table
by the
lake
and
read
about
the
absolute
horror
and
suffering
than to
be there
March 24, 2022
Ukrainian
Childhood
Knowing
the alphabet
versus
being buried
under your
classroom
Knowing the
best place
to go
sledding
versus
being killed
on the road
Wrapping
your arms
around
your mother’s
waist as
she cries
versus
the gunfire
and explosions
around you
March 24, 2022
Ukrainian
Days
They
keep
coming
through
my radio
often
crying
and
shouting
at the
same
time
Each is
carrying
a body
of sorrow
wrapped in
a shroud
of blood
Your
kitchen
is so
quiet
in the
early
morning
they say
we thought
to stop
here on
our way
home
March 25, 2022
In
Solidarity
I want
to insert
blank
spaces
into this
poem
(here I
will be
silent
and hold
up a
blank page)
This in
solidarity
with the
Russian
demonstrators
who are being
arrested
for holding
up blank signs
in public
spaces
(here I
will hold
up a
blank page
again)
I want
my blank
poem
to protest
the War
in Ukraine
as their
blank signs
so loudly do
March 26, 2022
A Choir
Sings
To Putin
You can’t
kill children
enough times
to impersonate
their bodies
on the broken
sidewalks
of their
destroyed
cities
They will never
wave the small
Russian flags
that you tie to
each of their
ruined lifeless
hands
March 27, 2022
For The
Poets
Of Ukraine
Now that
we see the
morning
sunlight
move onto
one edge
of a stand
of gathering
trees
we know
that you
are not
dead but
falling to
your knees
overwhelmed
once more
by simple
unexpected
beauty
March 28, 2022
Peace In
Our Time
There was
no movement
towards peace
reported today
at the 3,000th
meeting of
negotiators
as all the
Ukrainian
participants
have so far
been
bombed
poisoned
or strangled
in their
chairs
The Russians
continue to
deny any
responsibility
for their
murderous
acts of
aggression
and now wait
impatiently
in the rubble
for the next
generation
of Ukrainian
survivors
to send more
representatives
to the table
March 30, 2022
In
Ukraine
All the
good
days
are
still
inside
you
and
will
come
back
gradually
as do
song
birds
after
any
chaotic
upending
deadly
storm
that
never
seems
to
end
Stay
safe
until
then
March 30, 2022
War
War
recreates
itself each
day from
the sky
down to
the ground
But the dead
remain dead
as they do not
wish to die
like this again
April 1, 2022
Morning
Routine
Each
morning
Putin
swims
in an
ever
expanding
ocean
of blood
and
emerges
refreshed
under the
shadows of
missiles
flying
towards
Ukraine
Each morning
he rises
from his
bloodied
breakfast
table
with
small bits
of flesh
still lodged
between
his teeth
April 2, 2022
In
Ukraine
The
BBC
video
shows
the cars
as twisted
metal
shot up
by a
Russian
tank
on the
highway
the camera
showing
the dead
(with
their
faces
deliberately
blurred)
on the
side
of the
road
and the
dead
on the
road itself
bodies
later
thrown
onto
each
other
half
burned
alone
side by
side and
entangled
The camera
looking for
brief solace
shows the
trees
At this
distance
the trees
look close
enough
to this
anguished
scene
to offer
only us
imagined
comfort
These trees
suddenly
close enough
for us to
hear the
mournful
wailing
of their
silence
April 3, 2022
In
Ukraine
It must
have taken
a good bit
of time
to tie
the hands
of civilians
behind
their backs
before you
shot them
in the head
it must
have been
tiring and
you were
soon to
leave
and that’s
why you
began
to simply
shoot
these older
Ukrainians
whenever
you
encountered
them in
the streets
or where
their voices
could still
be heard
above the
shelling
You had
taught
yourself
to shoot
anyone with
their hands up
anyone who
reminded you
of the
sickness
you had
brought to
these days
As always
no one really
praised your
hard work
No one really
understood how
necessary it was
to kill the
defenseless
who might
one day
remember you
except Putin
April 3, 2022
A Single
Moment
Of Horror
Extended
Into Empty
Words
The body
of a man
found
executed
in the
jumbled
war debris
filled road
wearing
a jacket
and an old
sweater
to protect
himself from
the cold
his muddy
bicycle
on the
ground
nearby
A bullet
in the
back
of his
head
April 4, 2022
In
Ukraine
These
bodies
in their
violent
death
are
turned
like
irregular
furrows in
a field of
streets and
backyards
These
bodies
wait with
a patience
that we
are not
capable of
they refuse
their own
graves until
someone
recognizes
who they are
and explains
to them
how this
came to be
April 5, 2022
In
Ukraine
The moon
seems so
fragile with
the weight
of grief
I have
to turn
from its
scarred
eye just
to look
at you
let me untie
your hands
I want to
write the path
that will take
you home
April 6, 2022
A Partial List
Of Where Putin
Finds Civilians
To Kill
In or out
of a car
an apartment
a house
a basement
a backyard
a school
a theater
a store
a street
a path
a road
a highway
riding a
bicycle
or walking
home
How did
a maternity clinic
make its way
onto this list
And now
a train station
full of ordinary
people trying
desperately
to leave the
killing zone
Has this
tyrant so
corrupted
life as to
make death
his most
sought after
companion
April 8, 2022
In
Ukraine
How much suffering
has been created
and remembered
Is it as much
as in Iraq
and Syria
How many hours
of each day will
now be devoted
to the repeated
unfolding
of a single moment
of unbearable grief
April 10, 2022
In
Ukraine
Statistically
civilians are
being killed
every day
in Ukraine
But statistics
fall away at
the sight of
these very
public/private
murders
Every civilian
murdered in
Ukraine was
someone
who had
the same
complex
engagement
with the world
as we do
And on each
statistical day
civilians will
continue to be
murdered
with a specific
brutal
randomness
that no number
can represent or
hold to a page
April 11, 2022
All The
Killing
Resumes
Tomorrow
I lie down
and wait
for your
spilled
blood
to wash
through
the time
difference
Each morning
I show up
on the page
with some
words
that hardly
know me
All along
the roads
the bodies
of people
seem to
be thrown
away
And unless
you are
already
dead
you need to
understand
that it is
precisely
your
innocence
that makes
you a target
April 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
The evidence
of living is
to be taken
blindfolded
hands tied
out into
your own
backyard
and shot
in the head
Who
are these
callous
armed
young men
to not even
allow you
a glimpse
of the sky
that you
had lived
under for
all these
years
April 14, 2022
Nature
As An
Enemy
In a
new
campaign
Putin
is waging
war on
field mice
who have
bitten his
ankles
to the
bone and
despite
his bloody
carnage
stubbornly
refuse to kneel
in subservience
And he has
issued orders
to murder
one by one
all backyard
songbirds
who do not
spontaneously
sing together
a praise song
for him
April 16, 2022
An
Interpreter
Of Streets
We see
the war
debris
of dying
in almost
every
photo
graph
We imagine
ourselves
far away
But in truth
some part
of our
most quiet
thinking
now sees
how close
these
streets
actually
are
April 17, 2022
On The
Four
Winds
Mass killings
have a kind
of perpetual
motion built
into them
One stands
shoulder deep
in the grave
and passes
the shovel
on to
another
18 April, 2022
Poets
At
War
Poets
protect
the
invisible
from the
visible
They
claim
no sacred
ground
beyond
the page
If they
stop
writing
there
will
be no
measure
of time
long
enough
to find
our way
out of
this
ravaging
consuming
darkness
18 April, 2022
Poets
At
War
Poets
protect
the
invisible
from the
visible
They
claim
no sacred
ground
beyond
the page
If they
stop
writing
there
will
be no
measure
of time
long
enough
to find
our way
out of
this
ravaging
consuming
darkness
20 April, 2022
Victory
Putin
declares
victory
to any
of the
dead
still
listening
21 April, 2022
Russian
Military
Tactics
1.
Kill the
innocent
civilians
at your
leisure
they are
easily
identified
by their
lack of
weapons
and the
way they
raise their
hands above
their head
(as if
expecting
some kind
of mercy)
2.
Always dig
the mass graves
deeper than you
planned for
22 April, 2022
Mariupol
Putin is
choking
on a
single
Ukrainian
fly that
has flown
into his
open
bloody
mouth
22 April, 2022
On Earth Day
In Ukraine
Everything holy
knows how to
find us in nature
Even mountains
need to sleep
and breathe
the earth
And now the forests
as part of their
constant journey
to the sky
have paused and
sent out their
most tender roots
to the mass graves
to comfort
and cradle the
anguished dead
23 April, 2022
Mariupol
I can only
imagine the
cacophony
of Hell but
it must sound
something
like the
Russian
shelling
of where
you are
underground
in the Azovstal
steel plant
And here
I open
my words
to the
hammering
sound
of roofers
working
two houses
away and
the splendid
light
from the
same sun
that has
left you
in darkness
Some
mornings
my heart
wants
to stop
listening
to my
conscious
thoughts
Some
evenings
my poems
struggle to
stay silent
while I read
the reports
of the
mass graves
25 April, 2022
False Flag
Putin wraps
himself in a
false flag
each day
much as
my own
presidents
did in
the Gulf
of Tonkin
to enter
Vietnam
in force
and at
the U.N.
to justify
invading
Iraq
Who are
these men
who always
want revenge
for their
own sins
26 April, 2022
Bucha
I imagine
that those
people
were shot
quickly
almost
casually
but their
bodies
were
found
slowly
taking
up a
certain
amount
of space
on the
map of
time that
each was
carrying
in their
eyes
while
trying to
find a way
out or
back
through
the day
I imagine
they were
hoping
not to be
seen though
unarmed
as a threat
to those
with the
guns
29 April, 2022
Peace In
Our Time
There was
no movement
towards peace
reported today
at the 3,000th
meeting of
negotiators
as all the
Ukrainian
participants
have so far
been
bombed
poisoned
or strangled
in their
chairs
The Russians
continue to
to deny any
responsibility
for their
murderous
acts of
aggression
and now wait
impatiently
in the rubble
for the next
generation
of Ukrainian
survivors
to send more
representatives
to the table
30 April, 2022
Poets At The
Negotiating
Table
They want
the invading
country
to demand
the surrender
of its own
hatred
They want
city streets
to be filled
with unsparing
beauty
They want
those
imprisoned
by flags
to be
set free
They want
children’s
playground
voices
to once
again
endanger
peace and
quiet
They want
a country
of ordinary
joy and
misfortune
2 May, 2022
Invisible
City
The deepest
wounds are
borne by those
who survive
but still
carry the
murder
of their
loved one
into every
waking hour
under every
blue sky
3 May, 2022
What Can
Be Seen
From Far
Away
The
older
woman
with a
look of
disbelief
on her
face
as if what
she had
been through
maybe really
didn’t happen
to her but
to someone
else
And in the
midst of
her painful
retelling
to the camera
(to us)
she suddenly
began to weep
and I felt
my own
tears fall
over what
she has
endured
And I knew
how useless
I was
And the
8 year
old on
the sidewalk
with her
mother
telling
the camera
that she
is not
afraid
saying that
she is the
oldest
and so she
cannot be
afraid
and then
shells
start to
fall
somewhere
in the near
distance
and I see
her flinch
and then
gather herself
to look at
the camera
saying
again
that she is
not afraid
And even
as I write this
I am still
afraid for her
and her
family
5 May, 2022
grief
7 May, 2022
All in together, girls.
How do you like the weather, girls?
January, February, March, April . . .
Double
Dutch
jump
rope
can keep
the worst
day
one block
away
unable
to reach
you
unable
to harm
you
like it
wants to
The rope
skipping
under
your
rising
feet
You
cant
hear
anyone
crying or
hear the
next day
exploding
because
you
are
flying
over
the
jump
rope
sky
9 May, 2022
Russia’s
Special
Operations
Forces
Your job
is killing
not
thinking
Your enemy
is everyone
whether
young or
old
When
they
find
these
bodies
they
should
each
have
your
bullets
pressed
into their
last
memory
And in
Moscow
Putin has cast
the shame
of this war
into a medal
that will
be given
to your
mother at
your grave
12 May, 2022
Inside
Putin
The violence
of light would
shatter the
days if
the streets
were not
filled with
the complexity
of destroyed
lives
There is
no empty
space of
ground
to lie
upon
in the
kingdom
of open
graves
14 May, 2022
In
Ukraine
i called you
three times
from our
backyard
And when
you came
out of the
house
they shot
you too
Why do we
still weep
when we are
both dead
15 May, 2022
Blood
From A
Stone
Putin wants
to kill more
than people
He wants
to kill food
and electricity
and stones
He wants
to kill
schools
houses
apartment-
buildings
hospitals
maternity-
clinics
train stations
playgrounds
grocery stores
and small shops
He wants
to kill history
both past
and present
He wants
culture
on its knees
He wants to
kill open fields
rivers and
cities
trees and
mountains
And what he
most wants
What he
rages against
but has
been unable
to kill
Is Hope
and Resistance
in Ukraine
18 May, 2022
In
Russia
One day
a Ukrainian
grandmother
and
grandfather
will appear
at the door
of a Russian
mother
Their
clothes
will be
muddied
their limbs
broken
and their
faces
and hair
stained
with their
own blood
They will
tell the
mother
that they
are waiting
for the
soldier that
killed them
to come
home
from the
war
We are
almost
family
now
they will
explain
We will
need
a seat at
your table
forever
23 May, 2022
I Await News
Of Your Death
100 days
of Russia’s
immoral
unjust
war against
Ukraine
Isn’t it time
for Putin’s
heart to
violently
stop
beating
Isn’t it time
for the stigmata
of a child’s
bloody face
to appear on
his body
Isn’t it time
for his own
hands to
strangle
him in
the midst
of one of
his lies
Isn’t it time
for him to
be sentenced
in this waking
nightmare
to dig one grave
after another
for those
he has
never met
those who
never harmed
him
3 June, 2022
In
Ukraine
So many
die in a
chorus
of noise
so many
die by
surprise
no one
should
die in this
mounting
indifferent
hatred
No one
should
lose their
life so
tragically
while these
flowering
days turn
towards
summer
6 June, 2022
My Small
Reality
Someone on
the radio says
that after
100 days
the war
in Ukraine
“has become
boring to some”
It is
summer
I am
in our
garden
where
I can
hear
the far
far away
I listen to
unseen
birds offering
a deep mournful
call
There is
more beauty
and fear
in this
world
than I can
comprehend
11 June, 2022
The
Weather
Killing
moves
like a
storm
front
back
and
forth
across
Ukraine
leaving
bodies
lying
in the
streets
and fields
like melting
bloodied
hailstones
14 June, 2022
In
Ukraine
i called you
three times
from our
backyard
And when
you came
out of the
house
they shot
you too
Why do we
still weep
when we are
both dead
14 June, 2022
Climbing Into
The Common
Grave
Someone
unknown
to us is
forced to
their knees
and shot
in the back
of their head
This happens
alongside
the ruins
of a house
in a war
on a June
afternoon
This happens
even as love
exists inside
us all
15 June, 2022
Film
Treatment
No one
is left
living
except
for the
bloodied
film crew
and the
merciless
Director
who cuts
and edits
all life
from his
production
company
in Moscow
16 June, 2022
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
warned of the danger that “Ukraine fatigue”
could affect the world’s response to the war.
Washington Post – 18 June, 2022
The Prime
Minister
should
take note
that the
lifeless
bodies of
ordinary
Ukrainian
Women
Men
Children
of all ages
The ones
that seem
to tire him
so much
are the most
grievous
examples of
“Ukraine
Fatigue”
If they were
piled up
in his
backyard
and on the
streets of
his country
If he found
them in
his demolished
living room
perhaps
we could
understand
his “Ukraine
fatigue”
at having
to climb
over them
on the way
out of his
unhinged
front door
18 June, 2022
One
Another
I know it is
cold comfort
but I like
to think that
the murdered
grandmothers
of Ukraine
are somewhere
holding close
the murdered
school children
of Uvalde
June 22, 2022
Ukrainian Ghosts
They want at the
very least to leave
the ground where they
were murdered
but they never will
They can’t move past
the apple trees
where they
were blindfolded
and executed
They will wait out
the war beneath
those beautiful
fruitful trees
hoping that
the roots
of their
broken bodies
will reach
their loved
ones who
lie nearby
June 23, 2022
Watching Putin
Through 120
Days Of War
I know
some
things
about
you
that
your
heart
is made
of stone
and that
your eyes
are hollow
like your
soul
And that
death is your
companion
and awakens
beside you
each morning
with the same
desires
And that
it is death
that drives
you to work
in a quiet
blood rage
where you
sign the
invisible
confessions
of those
you are
about to
kill
In photos
you seem
awkward
and sentimental
around the
children whose
parents you
might one day
feel the need to
imprison or murder
June 28, 2022
A Soldier’s
Song
At the end
let’s break
our bones
together
and make
a soup
to feed the
loved ones
of everyone
we killed
At the end
maybe we
will both
go home
in one
piece or
something
close to
that
At the end
one country
will still be
free and
the other
will understand
why
June 28, 2022
Putin’s
Childhood
A small
boy
who will
grow up
to be a
Tyrant
falls down
and runs
to his
mother
crying
She
holds
him
close
and
strokes
his face
Now
as he
orders
the death of
children
parents and
grandparents
in Ukraine
he remembers
his tears and
her hands
and the
long
unending
run to
her
that still
leaves him
breathless
with fear
June 29, 2022
In
Ukraine
The leaf
still red
at its
edges
is mostly
dark
brown
like the
patch of
earth
it came
to rest
upon
You
walk
away
with it
in your
palm
trying
not to
wake it
July 2, 2022
In
Ukraine
The light turns
like a river turns
only for
its own reasons
The old tattoo on
your arm is of wheat
bending in the wind
All gone
All gone
What can you see
in this lethal dark
Whose loved ones
can you still identify
in their rough silhouettes
half-buried under the
rubble of everything
How many miles of dead
are needed to satisfy
Putin’s ravenous
appetite for this war
that will one day
swallow everyone
even him
July 3, 2022
In
Ukraine
Are you
surprised
to still
believe
in gravity
are you
surprised
that the
moon
does not
come
crashing
down
into one
of your
cities
Are you
surprised
by the
relentless
mutilation
of your
country
Are you
surprised
that the
defense
of liberty
would use
up so many
innocent
lives
and that
you would
still fight
so hard
to keep
freedom
inside one
small village
after another
July 9, 2022
In
Ukraine
You untie
the knot
of war
and place
its grief
in my
small
reed boat
Under this
loosening sky
of black salt
I will sail
far away
and bury
the still
bleeding
red cloth
under a
poem in
my garden
In this brief
ripening time
of the plums
I can only
imagine
with words
that no one
will die
July 9, 2022
In
Ukraine
The day
returns
to find
more
to kill
And then
even more
to kill
It is never
a different
day
it is always
the same
killing day
over and
over
July 11, 2022
In
Ukraine
1.
I see
your body
each morning
in another
field
I see you
where
a bullet
or shell
has left
your
life
behind
2.
I only
write
when I
don’t
know
what to
say
I only
write to
free the words
between my
tongue and
heart
3.
When
I find
myself
in exile
on the
page
When
I find
myself
outside
of any
memory
I look for
you
July 16, 2022
In
Ukraine
A grandmother
stands alone
staring at her
burning house
What is left
but to sweep
the path clear
to where her
front door
once stood
This has become
a war of roads
streets and
pathways
that lead
to what
no longer
exists
This has
become
a war
where
grandmothers
grandfathers
and their
grandsons
can die
just a
few feet apart
July 21, 2022
A Dance
For Ukraine
10 dancers
six women
four men
dressed in
white
on a stage
marked with
borders
Dancers
recoiling
from
unseen
terrors
Dancers
rushing
towards
each
other
forming
a knot
of grief
And from
that ragged
breathing
knot
individual
arms
reaching
out and
falling
back
And from
that knot
of sorrow
one dancer
after
another
breaking
free and
dancing
alone
only to
be pulled
back
again
into
the knot
Finally
dancers
begin
to peel
away
from
the knot
and dance
their own
freedom
lowering
themselves
down onto
the floor
only to
rise again
stained
with the
red chalk
dust that
covers
the stage
The stage
gradually
goes dark
but the
dancers
don’t
stop
dancing
The
soundscape
that of
shelling
and Putin
speaking
July 23, 2022
In
Russia
Those not
seeking
forgiveness
offer up
their lives
under
a flag
whose
darkening
light
illuminates
every nightmare
Only the
unblessed
saints
become
involved
in the
collapse
of hatred
that might
end this
war before
it starts
to murder
all of its
approximate
survivors
July 25, 2022
One Artist
In Ukraine
You fill
your
vision
with the
dark
rich
earth
and
photograph
your feet
standing
in one
place
And as
you gather
your art
from what
lies at
hand
within
the ever
widening
killing
fields
of this
war
You refuse
to leave
each day
each life
behind
July 26, 2022
The War
Across
Putin’s
Body
Putin’s
hands
tremble
ever so
slightly
as he
decides
who to
kill next
July 27, 2022
In Season
(thinking of
Ukraine)
Finally
summer
is deep
in my
pocket
and I
can’t
see
any
trees
without
green
leaves
I bite
the ripe
plum to
taste the
rush of
its sweet
juice
I want
so much
to move
the days
this way
into fall
but can’t
forget
those
taken
out among
their own
backyard
fruit trees
blindfolded
and shot
in the head
well before
summer
had come
this far
July 27, 2022
For
A Mother
In Ukraine
I don’t know
what to feel
as I hold
one of
my daughter’s
newborn twin
daughters
so soon
after your own
daughter
has died
in the
shelling
I only want
to cradle
Valentina
and
let her
see the
world as
we hope
it will be
I desperately
want to change
the present
with words
But I hesitate
to summon
any joy
while you are
still weeping
beside me
July 29, 2022
In
Ukraine
In this war
a tree is
always
on fire
in the
pitch black
hallway of
a country
standing
firm
in a
trench
filled with
liberty and
blood
August 4, 2022
In
Ukraine
You carry
your country
on your
shoulders
there is
a path
that you
walk
through
burning
fields and
streets
a path
through
each innocent
life taken
a path
near your
once lived
quiet life
A mournful
blessing
follows
you into
each fight
And passing
under the
shadows
of your
mountains
and rivers
you see
some of
those who
came to
destroy
your country
lying down
with their
broken bodies
wrapped in
an earthen
bloody cloak
that death has
sewn for them
The sky is
an intense
blue and
there are
sunflowers
August 7, 2022
In
Ukraine
Without the
cacophony
of war
Without the
disturbing
mirror
images of
the dead
With all color
and fear
drained from
each day
of fighting
War would
become
the wreckage
of objects
The unexpected
loss of words
to describe
anything
still beautiful
August 8, 2022
On The
Newsfront
The editors
have begun
to question
How many
dead or weeping
grandparents
can be shown
How many
burials of
children
How many
mothers
grieving
the loss
of their
sons and
daughters
How many
destroyed
villages and
cities
How many
burning
houses and
apartment
buildings
How many
bodies
in countless
streets
and fields
can be
reported on
The war
in Ukraine
has taken on
a quiet
machine
sound
a kind of
distant highway
humming
a blocks away
directionless
street traffic
sound
unless you
are there
August 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
Death
will
survive
the killer
and leave
the war
intact
Love will
take on
another
shape
become
a child’s
bicycle
leaning
against
a tree
August 14, 2022
In
Ukraine
Two older
women
are talking
at the corner
of a field
thousands of
miles
from here
they name
their missing
neighbors
and speak
softly
of the dead
they look
to the east
half-expecting
the sky to
erupt again
they embrace
and move apart
calling on God
to see them for
a few seconds
to hear their short
repeated
desperate prayers
August 17, 2022
In
Ukraine
In my
film
I am
the one
who
boards
the train
with my
family
just after
you
In my
film
I am
the one
at the
border
who
brings
you a bowl
of thick
hot soup
But
In another
film
I am
the older
unnamed
man with
a cane
who is
blindfolded
and
shot next to
your father
August 20, 2022
Ukrainian
Bees
Putin accepts that
Ukrainian bees have
stung his army
repeatedly
during the invasion
of Ukraine
But it is
another matter
entirely
for him to discover
that like-minded bees
are steadily appearing
in his own house
August 21, 2022
Writing
About
Ukraine
There
are poems
that begin
in solidarity
but end
with words
burning in
my mouth
There are
poems
that confuse
the living
with those
still to die
There are
poems that
read like a
folded/unfolded
photograph
of parting
There are
poems that
seek out a
street and
the face
and life
of someone
undone by
this war
There are
poems
where
darkness
seems to
overcome
everything
above them
And there are
poems written
by Ukrainians
whose words
include all
of this
but stand firmly
together on their
common ground
August 22, 2022
In
Ukraine
Putin
sends missiles
to kill people
at a train station
for the same reason
he sends missiles
into a schoolyard or an
apartment complex
or a maternity clinic
or a theater
or library
His desire is
to kill
uncontrolled
thought
wherever
he finds it
August 25, 2022
Tell
Putin
The
only
safe
place
to hide
from
death
is in
your
own
grave
August 28, 2022
In
Ukraine
There is
an echo
of sorrow
in every
one of
your
shadows
that will
remain
painful to hear
but necessary
for any future
joy to be
measured
against
August 29, 2022
A Poem
For The
Tyrants
Let the
exquisite
poison
of poetry
flood their
bodies with
truth
Let the snakes
on their tongues
find their way
into the rotting
star meat
of their hearts
Let them
fear the
names of
the dead
more than
they love
their own
nightmares
August 29, 2022
On The
Bay Bridge
(for Ukraine)
I wanted to
raise our
threadbare
signal flag
poems
to make
the cars
on the
bridge
stop for
awhile
so that
their drivers
could
get out
and lean
against
the railings
to fully
take in
this slowly
bleeding
sunset
August 30, 2022
From The
Tyrant’s
Handbook
War is the
unbuilding
of a country
War is the
killing
of each
living
body still
clinging
to hope
Peace is
part of
the slow
preparation
for the next
war
September 2, 2022
In
Ukraine
Don’t
look back
at your
dead
look
for a
way
out
Don’t
look
for
hope
look for
a way to
end this
one day
and wait
for another
September 4, 2022
In
Ukraine
You declare joy
and sit
waiting for
the water to
boil to exactly
the right sound
You pour
the
turbulent
water
through
the coffee
filter
and sit
again
waiting
for
language
to come
back to
your tongue
Let this be
the last
of the war
you think
let every
star filled
missing sky
come back
into view
September 5, 2022
Retaking
Territory
Ukraine fights
to maintain
its liberty
Ukraine fights
to retake
its territory
from those
who invaded it
with lies
and murder
If only days
weeks and
months
could be
retaken
If only
the lives
of those
Ukrainian
children
killed by
this war
could be
retaken
If only
a family
could
be retaken
from the
rubble
of a
house or
apartment
If only
peace
could be
retaken
on any
morning
without
bloodshed
September 10, 2022
A Young
Russian
Soldier
In Retreat
One tree
still burns
in a poem
you once
wrote
One kiss
still lingers
in a letter
you left
behind
Scraps of
severed
roots
and
bloodied
earth
fill your
pockets
And from each
blackened doorway
of every
burned out house
an Angel of Death
offers to carry you
home
September 14, 2022
In
Ukraine
(for Izyum)
How many
bodies can
they hide
behind
their eyes
graves
in the
sandy
soil
of a
pine
forest
mass
graves
in cities
discarded
bodies
in backyards
under rubble
along roads
and streets
How
many
ways
are
there
to kill
a man
a woman
or even
a child
One day
we will know
September 16, 2022
In
Ukraine
(for Izyum)
How many
bodies can
they hide
behind
their eyes
graves
in the
sandy
soil
of a
pine
forest
mass
graves
in cities
discarded
bodies
in backyards
under rubble
along roads
and streets
How
many
ways
are
there
to kill
a man
a woman
or even
a child
One day
we will know
September 17, 2022
In
Ukraine
Leaves
still in
one
pocket
summer
is almost
gone
And in
the fall
you will
remember
yourself
on a swing
in the
backyard
ages ago
And in
the always
arriving winter
I know that
even the knives
and the forks
will lie down
with you
and turn
to protect you
from the days
yet to come
September 21, 2022
Ghosts
Of
Ukraine
In the
last few
hours
before
they
killed
me
I thought
of some
things
that I
needed
to get
done
around
the house
small tasks
put off for
months
I thought
too
of a poem
I wanted
to read
to you
and how
a blindfold
isolates
words
I thought
of how
I like to
look into
your eyes
as I tell
you that
I love you
and how
sometimes
we kiss so
deeply that
it seems a
farewell
September 25, 2022
In
Ukraine
When a loved one
is killed
they leave behind
a very small piece
of their horizon
And that is why
on some days
you find yourself
staring at the
smallest
edge of blue
in your dark sky
September 28, 2022
In
Ukraine
You close the eyes
of your dead
and cover them
with a sheet
of plastic
Bury them so that
they will no longer
see the murderous
Imperial greed
of Putin
who willingly trades
uncounted bodies
and uniforms
filled with blood
for a destroyed
city or an
apple orchard
Or even
for a few
meters of
someone’s
backyard
in Ukraine
September 30, 2022
One
Day
At the market
checkout
counter
she asks me
if I need a
bag or a
war or a
poem
A poem
I say and
on the way
home
I read
a poem
about
geese
flying over
a marshland
in Ukraine
October 1, 2022
Russian
Soldiers
Retreat
The clouds
are filled
with blood
and you
watch them
carefully
as you make
your way
through the
violence
of days
Tell us what
is next
you demand
of the dead
give us fair
warning of
the length
of each winter
still to come
Tell us
quickly now
above the
chaos of
our lying
How can we
leave our bodies
behind
and go home
without a
mortal wound
October 4, 2022
Russian
Tactics
Putin asks
his generals
what can we
destroy next
is there
anything left
of value to
someone
Can we kill
everyone in
a photo
album
picture
by picture
Maybe
kill the
same person
over and over
in a series of
photographs
at every age
depicted
October 11, 2022
In
Ukraine
How many
praise songs
does death
need to
hear
before
turning
away from
your door
Surely these
strange days
have been
filled with
those songs
that never
seem to end
even at the edge
of the grave
October 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
The war
pauses for
the length
of a poem
be it long
or short
someone
takes
another
breath
and
watches
the sky
suddenly
fill with
beauty
and hope
October 12, 2022
In
Ukraine
And I
pray with
these words
that there will
be a day
once again
when you
no longer
see a body
in your
backyard
but see
only the
eager joy
of the
children
at your
five year
old
grandson’s
birthday
party
October 19, 2022
In
Ukraine
I want to
see Putin
knitting a
winter cap
for a child
whose mother
he has killed
I want to
see Putin
reading a
storybook
to a child
whose father
will never
come home
I want to
see Putin
preparing
a meal for
the family
of each
missing
grandparent
I want to
see Putin
as a grave
singer
for the
rest of
his life
his voice
a lament
of blood
that keeps
rising in
his throat
October 26, 2022
Russian
Field
Manual
A lie
is a
way
to get
close
enough
to shoot
a civilian
in the
head
A lie
is a
way
to
bring
ordinary
citizens
to the
edge
of a
mass
grave
A lie once
embellished
distracts
you from
remembering
your own
nightmares
October 27, 2022
Tyrants
I can’t stand
the way
they swim
in language
the way
they shake
words from
their meaning
annoys me
I can’t stand
how they
look around
for a bloodier
knife or
the way they
strangle each
rag doll
they find
next to a body
Why do they
continue to
find room in
our shoes
Can’t we ever
be alive
anymore
without them
always killing us
for supper
October 28, 2022
In
Ukraine
The war
will not
rest until
it kills
itself in
front of
its own
children
who swear
revenge
November 1, 2022
In
Ukraine
I dedicate
this poem
to the
poisoned
fecund
earth of
Ukraine
To the rivers
that hold
reservoirs
of spilled
blood
To the
barking
lost
wounded
dogs and
unseen
feral cats
To the
fallen
executed
birds
To the
ripped apart
lifeless
trees and
graveyard
orchards
To the
insects
and animals
that have forever
seen past their
own death
but now look
to us in
their plaintive
movements
to speak
as best we can
on their behalf
November 8, 2022
In
Ukraine
I can write
with clarity
about what
I cannot see
in front of
me
except for
the war in
Ukraine
which I
can only
outline
in rage and
sorrow
And to those
dying today
by a bullet
shell or
missile
I can only
try to
write myself
there on paper
and lie down
in your
fallen shadows
Hoping in
some way
to see not just
your death
but the life
behind it
with clarity
November 10, 2022
Putin
He would
no doubt
lock up a
bird
and give it
a name
because he
feared what
he could not
name and
control
and in
between
creating
nightmares
he valued
kinship
I watched
and listened
closely to
a BBC
report of a
75 year old
Ukrainian
woman
who recounted
opening
her front door
to someone
pounding
on it
and when she
did open the
door she
was punched
in the face
by a Russian
soldier who
after ransacking
her house
came back to
beat and rape her
She made it clear
as she sat on a couch
next to a friend
that there was no
forgiveness in
her heart
and wondered
aloud what she
had ever done to
that soldier to
deserve his
violence
And later
I walked out
into our garden
and stared at the
apple tree whose
fruit came early
this year but was
bitter to each
bite until
some time
later when its
sweetness was
unexpectedly
released
I wonder now
why the Russian
flag has not
grown too heavy
to raise above
any elementary
school in Russia
as it is soaked
with the blood
of so many
innocent lives
November 16, 2022
The War
In Ukraine
When someone
has driven out
or killed your
family members
When someone
has terrorized
and beaten the
old and the young
When soldiers have
left the deep scars
of rape and executions
like so many leaves
scattered on the
ground behind them
And tortured
and killed scores
of perceived enemies
in occupied areas
When someone
has waged total
war on you and
the very existence
of your country
Is any senseless
brutal act of
personal violence
against them
to be considered
a war crime
or simply
another
moral suicide
attached to
any war
November 22, 2022
Russian
Solitaire
In Ukraine
If they
draw
the
jack
of
clubs
in your
name
they
will
beat
you
into
the
next
hour
of
every
day
If they
turn
over
the
queen
of hearts
they will
rape her
If you
keep
shouting
NO
to
each
new
card
they
will
cut
that
word
from
your
tongue
and
write
YES
on your
confession
And then
discard
your body
November 23, 2022
In
Ukraine
The birds
in this
war
change
sides
every
day
they
know
nothing
of drawn
borders
they take
to the air
when startled
by shooting
or explosions
but accept
the bodies
on the ground
as part of their
new landscape
They
carefully
watch
from the
severed limbs
of nearby
trees
as death flies
everywhere
around them
November 25, 2022
A Place
To Start
Counting
In Russia
the body
count
begins
each day
with the
names of
their sons
In Ukraine
the body
count
begins
each day
with the
names
of their
grandmothers
December 1, 2022
In
Ukraine
The one
who left
the house
early
on his
bicycle
to find
food
was killed
The one
who stayed
to clear the
table
and look
for a
sweater
was killed
The child
who was
only thinking
about how
warm her
mother’s
hand felt
caressing
her cheek
was killed
with her
December 2, 2022
Putin
He seeks
the womb
of the
destroying
father
He wants
to bathe
Ukraine
in the
swift
rivers of
ashen
blood
Between
his lies
is the
intimacy
of unending
nightmares
He
seeks
his
rebirth
in the
bodies
of his
enemies
and
in the
innocence
of those
he continues
to murder
December 5, 2022
In
Ukraine
The war
weeps
in forced
consent
as we
listen to
its cruel
broken
narrative
on our
kitchen
radios
Outside
the storm
clouded
window
is winter
rain and
gusts of
wind
My wish
for you
is a year
of ordinary
seasons
And that
in this
new year
you stamp
the cold from
your boots
and hear
your name
spoken with
pleasure by
someone you
love
December 11, 2022
In
Ukraine
If you find
a spoon
on your
walk
it means
that your
coming
child
will have
a good
appetite
If you
come home
one night
and find
three
bodies
in the
street
and your
house
dark and
quiet
it means
the war
has found
you
and taken
everything
away
December 14, 2022
Putin Demands
That The
Avenging Angel
Forgive Him
I have no
miracles
for you
she said
to Putin
I only
see you
as you
are
and marvel
with others
at how your
very own
violent
wounds
have
completely
swallowed
you
December 18, 2022
In
Ukraine
The New
Year
will arrive
in Ukraine
but there
will be
far
fewer
people
to welcome
it into
the season
The New
Year will
arrive
amid the
continuing
wreckage
of the
Old Year
The New
Year will
arrive
as the
bodies
of many
who were
executed
are still
unidentified
and alone
waiting for
their shrouds
of memory
The New
Year will
arrive
and be
immediately
covered in
the bloodshed
of steadfast
liberty
much like the day
before this one
December 21, 2022
In
Ukraine
Words
like
death
and
luck
are
written
in the
winter
months
without
hesitation
Words
like
love
are
written
slowly
painfully
The
school
notebook
that you
found
in the
mud
had
drawings
of stick
figure
women
and
men
weeping
and
dozens
of small
red
broken
hearts
These days
are still
made
of words
and images
that have
lately
left you
and now
bleed over
into our
lives
December 28, 2022
In
Ukraine
Death
falls
from
the
sky
landing
on
a
school
report
card
from
two
years
ago
“…she
is quiet
but a
good
reader
and colors
her life
with a
wonderful
imagination…”
December 29, 2022
For
Ukraine
1.
You are
only
close
when
I sing
to you
I sing
below
your
name
It is
usually
too late
when I
begin
writing
a path
through
the day
Now I
feel at home
in my ragged
bones
2.
I stare hard
at the trees
that fight
with the
heartless
winter wind
I want to
live among
those old
trees
that bend
and break
in places
but never
give up
their deepest
roots
December 30, 2022
In
Ukraine
Even
when
this war
is quiet
on one
street
it
continues
to burn
at its
edges
Even
when
your
country
stops
burning
the war
will wait
above
your trees
Wanting
to see
how many
survivors
might die
of grief
January 12, 2023
In
Ukraine
Once the
day has
opened
the killing
will begin
Once the
killing has
begun
you should
step away
from the
windows
and the
doors
you
should
step away
from the
clouds
and the
streets
under
them
And if
you are
still living
in words
at the end
of this war
You
should
consider
the lines
in your
palm
as the
last of
the roads
that you
still have
to travel
to reach
home
January 18, 2023
In
Ukraine
You tie
her shoes
and look
up at
one part
of the
wrath
filled
sky
that fell
on your
child
who only
wanted
to draw
horses
January 19, 2023
In
Ukraine
There is
nothing
left
between
his hands
but a
burning
house
Around
him
are
fields
holding
angled
motion
less
bodies
as if on
a destroyed
dance floor
How does
one
establish
that one
is still
alive
he asks
of one
body
How does
one locate
the desire
for another
breath
despite the
absence of
a living
witness
February 1, 2023
In
Ukraine
You declare joy
and sit
waiting for
the water to
boil to exactly
the right sound
You pour
the
turbulent
water
through
the coffee
filter
and sit
again
waiting
for
language
to come
back to
your tongue
Let this be
the last
of the war
you think
let every
star filled
missing sky
come back
into view
February 1, 2023
In
Ukraine
The light
is in the
midst
of a
seizure
while
the
divide
between
each
wound
shortens
to a
few gasps
of breath
You can hear
the piano
repeating
the run of
notes
that moved
you forward
and back
under the
trees
This
impulse
to shed
your
weapons
and dance
is so strong
that you
plead
with death
to look
in another
direction
as you
leap
and turn
in the
air
February 5, 2023
In
Ukraine
You tie
her shoes
and brush
the dirt
from them
You look
up at
one part
of the
wrath
filled
sky
that fell
on your
child
who only
wanted
to draw
horses
February 11, 2023
In
Ukraine
(Valentine’s
Day)
The
language
of love
in war
is understood
by every
soldier
but only
spoken after
the bullet
has torn
open
the heart
as in
a film
where one
has time
for some
parting
words
February 12, 2023
In
Ukraine
A year
of dying
and fighting
of leaving
and staying
A year
of loss
and memory
of torment
and
sacrifice
A year of
women
and men
of children
and mothers
and fathers
of grandparents
rooted
in their lives
A year
of love
and solidarity
of friendship
and tenderness
a year of
tears
A year of
the old
among you
listening to
gunfire
and watching
the sky
A year
of words
said over
your dead
wherever
they were
found
A year
of the
wounded
A year
of the
wreckage
of cities
and villages
within
the changing
seasons
of war
A year
of stubbornness
A year
of resistance
A year of
hard fought liberty
February 24, 2023
In
Ukraine
The madness
of Putin is in
his wish to
commit suicide
every few
minutes
by killing
someone
unknown
to him
no matter
how far
away their
kitchen is
no matter
the soup
ladled out
no matter
the
emptied
bowls
to wash
and dry
and put
away
March 12, 2023
A Russian
War Story
The birds
fly in a
crazy
back and
forth
knot of
perfection
They distract us
momentarily
from our
killing of the
innocents
How much
is left to
see from
our windows
of carnage
How many
more are
there to
dispose of
before we
reach our
promised grace
and forgiveness
April 15, 2023
Marking
Time In
The War
1.
One picks up
the spoon
and one
picks up
the fork
They both
wait for
the one
who will
pick up
the knife
2.
No one
can rest
while
there
are still
generations
to kill
3.
Some
ordinary
grandfathers
were made to
raise their hands
above their
heads to establish
the placement
of their
falling bodies
in the shallow
backyard
graves
4.
How long
into the
seasons
does it
take to
stop
killing
someone
or their
family
April 19, 2023
Like
Putin
Like Putin
there are
mornings
when I
awaken as
an insane
donkey
Like Putin
there are
mornings
when I
awaken
as the
King of
Self-
Annihilation
Unlike Putin
I find truth
a country
that I will
not violate
Unlike Putin
I don’t see
mass-murder as
an alternative
to happiness
April 30, 2023
War And
Peace
In Russia
1.
War
Every day
the house
of the liar
adds a
new door
so that
more
bodies
can be
carried
past his
breakfast
table
so
that he
can read
almost like
a newspaper
the
innocence
and rage
the prayers
and fear
the
unwavering
resistance
on the
countless
faces
of those who
continue to
oppose him
2.
Peace
The
garden
doves
display
the
vast
night
sky
under
their
wings
before
mating
May 18, 2023
Like
Putin
Like Putin
there are
mornings
when I
awaken as
an insane
donkey
Like Putin
there are
mornings
when I
awaken
as the
King of
Self-
Annihilation
Unlike Putin
I find truth
a country
that I will
not violate
Unlike Putin
I don’t see
mass-murder as
an alternative
to happiness
April 30, 2023
War And
Peace
In Russia
1.
War
Every day
the house
of the liar
adds a
new door
so that
more
bodies
can be
carried
past his
breakfast
table
so
that he
can read
almost like
a newspaper
the
innocence
and rage
the prayers
and fear
the
unwavering
resistance
on the
countless
faces
of those who
continue to
oppose him
2.
Peace
The
garden
doves
display
the
vast
night
sky
under
their
wings
before
mating
May 18, 2023
Putin
He tires
some
days
of the
repetitive
work
of killing
people
and
towards
the end
of the
day
he gets
up from
his bone
factory
table and
walks to
the window
to stare
at the
emptying
employee
parking
lot
May 27, 2023
In
Ukraine
You awake
thinking
am I still
here
and you
hold onto
one another
whenever
you can
So that
if death
wanders
into your
destroyed
home
it will
not find
you alone
and
unthought
of
And that
might
in itself
alter
its terrible
urgency
for a
length of
time
May 28, 2023
In
Ukraine
You awake
thinking
am I still
here
and you
hold onto
one another
whenever
you can
So that
if death
wanders
into your
destroyed
home
it will
not find
you alone
and
unthought
of
And that
might
in itself
alter
its terrible
urgency
for a
length of
time
May 28, 2023
At The
Trial Of
Vladimir
Putin
The
prosecution
has called
as a first
witness
the entire
country of
Ukraine
And
marked
as
exhibit
#1
on
maps
stretching
the length
of the
Ukrainian
border
the
location
of each
civilian
shot
and
thrown
into a
shallow
grave
May 30, 2023