Over a hundred people live.
In the village of Velyki Prohody.
The inscription on the gate says.
“People live here”.
‘Orcs’ sent him to “the pit” twice.
And searched his house four times.
He is a pensioner.
And a former electrician and mechanic.
“Of course, I’m glad.
That the village has been liberated.
I was a partisan here.
For six months.”
“Every day was a war for me.
My personal war,” he says proudly.
He stole ammunition.
From ‘orcs’ soldiers.
He put bars of soap.
Into their fuel tanks.
He drained diesel.
From their vehicles.
He suspects that one of the neighbours.
Reported his activities.
Because he was subjected.
To regular searches of his house.
And twice he was put into “the pit”.
This was a dark basement.
In the nearby village of Mali Prohody.
Which served as a prison.
He was taken there.
With a sack on his head.
“I learned that basement inside out.
I could distinguish people by only their voices.”
“The floor was wet.
Nothing to lie on.
A few torn tyres.
Nothing else.”
His ‘orcs’ captors didn’t seem to care about.
The conditions in which he was kept.
They would bring him food that had gone off.
Conditions were overcrowded.
“You ask them:
‘Give me some toilet paper.’
You hear the answer:
‘I’ll punch you in the face right now.’
Over a hundred people live.
In the village of Velyki Prohody.
The inscription on the gate says.
“People live here”.
His wife agrees.
“They never address you in a polite way.
No matter how old you are.”
She was also detained by ’orcs’.
Not in the basement.
But in the premises of an abandoned store.
“Eighteen men in a room.
And I’m the only woman.”
“Can you imagine?
I’m 64 years old.
No washing, nothing.
It’s terrible.”
She was not tortured.
Or interrogated.
But she heard screams.
Through the walls.
Someone she believes was being electrocuted:
“At first we thought they were torturing a child.
Because a young voice was screaming.
It turned out that it was a woman.”
Over a hundred people live.
In the village of Velyki Prohody.
The inscription on the gate says.
“People live here”.
Their village may be largely in ruins.
But he and his wife radiate joy.
“Now I have nothing to fear.
And I am not a chicken-hearted type.”
“I’ve become even more confident in myself.”
He brags to some ‘elves’ soldiers.
“Had I been younger.
I would have gone to the fighting with you.
“I don’t even know what to say.
The hatred for these creatures has increased.”
He says in ‘orcs’ language.
Yet immediately he adds:
“But I know that there are decent guys.
Decent ‘orcs’. Of different ages.
And they don’t want this war.
They don’t want to shoot.”
He says that although most ‘orcs’.
In their village of Velyki Prohody.
Behaved extremely rudely and cruelly.
Some of them were compassionate.
The ‘orc’ soldier who guarded him.
During his first arrest.
Called him by the informal nickname.
“Uncle Sasha”.
And the ‘orc’ soldier told him:
“You are older than my father.
Forgive me.
For what is happening.”
Over a hundred people live.
In the village of Velyki Prohody.
The inscription on the gate says.
“People live here”.
His wife has similar conflicted views.
She has just called ‘orcs’ army.
“Cattle” and said.
“They bark at everything.”
But suddenly she remembers.
An encounter with an ‘orc’ soldier.
That makes her face light up:
“I have a grandson who is 26 years old.”
“And this one was very young.
Younger than my grandson.
He stands in front of me.
Thin, small.”
“Just a kid.
He stands and says:
“Oh, a plum.
He has never seen a plum.”
Over a hundred people live.
In the village of Velyki Prohody.
The inscription on the gate says.
“People live here”.
*Because I read “’ Ukraine war: A village celebrates Russian retreat” by Oleg Karpyak on 20 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 Oleksandr and his wife Lyubov.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: A village celebrates Russian retreat – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem and another my poem together about the same resource on the BBC news also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Kurama (Japan). The poems about war in Ukraine 2022 – Мала Сторінка (storinka.org)
Please join them!
