This broken city is just beginning.
To tell its stories.
And reveal how many victims.
‘Orcs’ left behind.
Izyum is now a city.
With deep scars.
In every direction there are.
Scorched and battered buildings.
The streets are largely lifeless.
It’s as if residents.
Who survived the shelling and occupation.
Are still scared to come out.
A handful gather.
In a sunlit square in the city centre.
To collect some aid being handed out.
From the back of a van.
She is among them.
With a lively six-year-old boy.
She recounts the hardships of recent months.
As her boy chases around the bushes.
“We cooked outside.
The fire truck brought water.
From the river.
But we didn’t have drinking water.”
“We went looking for wells.
So we would have water to drink.
My boy was scared to sleep alone.
He twitched and had nightmares.”
“The hardest thing was.
Not knowing what tomorrow would bring.”
“Military actions are still going on.
And there is no certain victory.”
“We are still scared.
We don’t know.
If we will be safe.
Over the longer term.”
“We’re hoping and praying.
For a peaceful sky.
And for a bright future.
For our children.”
‘Gandalf the Green’ says.
It’s not a lull.
But the build-up.
To the battles to come.
“It’s preparation.
For the next sequence.
Because Ukraine must be free.
All of it.”
She has a different phrase.
For the current situation.
“It’s thin ice.”
Though ‘orcs’ may be gone.
This broken city is just beginning.
To tell its stories.
And reveal how many victims.
‘Orcs’ left behind.
*Because I read “’Walls full of pain’: Russia’s torture cells in Ukraine” by Orla Guerin on 21 Sep 2022, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of Dasha and her son Tim.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
‘Walls full of pain’: Russia’s torture cells in Ukraine – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem and three other my poems together about the same resource on the BBC news also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Kurama (Japan). The poems about events in Izium (war in Ukraine 2022) – Мала Сторінка (storinka.org)
Please join them!
