the wind moans
through snow-laden branches
shadows on their cheeks
white-haired Ukrainians peer
behind shelter windows
in the cold snap
a neon-lit billboard
above Kursk's mall:
men in work suits hold AKs
grounded in tricolors
FYI: Kursk is a city in southwestern Russia near the Ukrainian border. And for more about poems on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, see "Special Feature: Selected Poems for Reflections on the Fourth Anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine"
Added:
Journey, Not Here and Now
Donbas teen's gaze
at a row of church spires ...
sunrise tinged gray
Behind him, the roofline sinks lower with each step, until only the cross atop the church shows above the trees. Ahead, the road bends where he cannot see.
what ifs …
beneath shadowed skies
the border pass
FYI: The vast majority of the Ukrainian region, the Donbas, is now occupied by Russia
