leaf buds
tremble at the edge
of a twig ...
the look in a girl's eyes
at the Polish border
on Kyiv's street corner
a combat-suited man sings
Oh, Red Kalyna ...
a boy pointing his stick
trills along in morning chill
five thousand
blue-and-yellow Easter eggs
hung in Lviv's
Corridor of Life ...
a distant roll of thunder
FYI: The red kalyna is a berry that symbolizes Ukrainian culture rich in dance, music, and folk tales. "Oh, Red Kalyna In the Meadow" was written during the First World War to honour Ukrainian riflemen. And most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and celebrate Easter on April 24.
Added:
alone and lost
in the fog of dementia
a veteran
turns on the TV daily
for news of the Ukraine War
FYI; People, April 21: Some Older Ukrainians with Dementia Are Experiencing Russia's War Anew Every Day
Olga Boichak, a sociologist, is based in Australia but speaks with her grandparents each day. "She's going through the daily trauma of rediscovering that war has begun, and keeps trying to evacuate," she told the Times.
Boichak wrote about the situation on Twitter, sharing how her grandmother has been in a "never-ending loop for 41 days straight."
