“We feel grace that the body will finally.
Return from the war.”
He describes his job as bringing.
The dead back from oblivion.
Two young ‘elves’ men have.
The grim task of retrieving.
The bodies of civilians and soldiers.
Killed in this brutal war.
Today they’re in a recently liberated area.
In eastern Ukraine.
The ground is scarred with rubble.
Abandoned trenches and deep shell holes.
He says their task is to ensure.
That no dead body is left behind.
On the battlefield, which means.
No dead ‘orcs’ as well as their own.
They’ve been told.
There are several bodies.
Lying somewhere in this scene.
Of apocalyptic devastation.
There’s still the sound of fighting.
in the distance.
He says they’re well aware.
Their job is dangerous.
But considers the risks justified.
“Because the most important thing is.
To take out the dead.
From this terrible war”.
“We feel grace that the body will finally.
Return from the war.”
He describes his job as bringing.
The dead back from oblivion.
They open the door of their white van.
Marked with a red cross.
And the number 200.
The military code for transporting dead soldiers.
There’s a sickly smell of death.
When they open the back door.
And the sight of maggots on the floor.
From bodies retrieved earlier in the day.
He and another man.
Have been told there are several.
More bodies nearby.
But they now have to find the location.
Another man launches a small drone.
Fitted with a camera to scout the area.
They’re not just looking for the bodies.
But also for signs of mines.
One of their team was recently injured by one.
It’s a constant hazard.
An ‘elf’ military engineer thinks there are.
Around 100,000 mines there.
They now take the precaution.
Of throwing a hook.
To turn over a dead body.
Before approaching the remains.
‘Orcs’ forces have been known.
To booby-trap buildings.
And even bodies.
Before they retreat.
“We feel grace that the body will finally.
Return from the war.”
He describes his job as bringing.
The dead back from oblivion.
After flying the drone for about 20 minutes.
They think they’ve identified a likely location.
It’s a bombed out building.
Next to a destroyed railway siding.
They put their helmets and body armour on.
And make their way carefully through the rubble.
Inside the collapsed structure.
There are the charred remains of three bodies.
At first it’s hard to distinguish.
The human remains.
From the burnt-out timbers.
Slowly they begin to identify bones.
They carefully comb through what’s left.
Looking for any signs of identification.
This time they’re not recovering.
Their own but dead ‘orcs’.
No identification papers.
Survived the inferno.
But they find the blackened, burnt buckle.
Of an ‘orcs’ military belt.
Small pieces of ceramic body armour plates.
Also tell them these three men.
Were fighting for ‘Mordor’.
There are a few other personal items.
They recover from the ground.
Including a pair of spectacles.
Each is photographed.
And placed to the side.
They will be returned.
Along with the human remains.
Carefully placed into body bags.
Which are then loaded into their truck.
It takes them several hours.
To complete the delicate task.
Ensuring every piece of what was once.
A human life is recovered.
Then the bodies they collect.
Are taken to a local morgue.
By their white van marked with.
A red cross and the number 200.
He says he feels.
An almost spiritual sense of relief.
When he recovers a body.
Regardless of who they were.
“We feel grace that the body will finally.
Return from the war.”
He describes his job as bringing.
The dead back from oblivion.
When they recover ‘orcs’ dead.
He says “there is a clear understanding.
That they will be exchanged.
For our deceased.”
“And our deceased will be buried.
With dignity in Ukraine”.
It’s the Red Cross who facilitates.
The exchanges between countries.
They often attend the funerals.
Of the ‘elves’ soldiers they’ve recovered.
They’ve experienced more death.
Than life over the past year.
He accepts it will eventually take a toll.
On their emotional state.
But he adds, “I understand that.
We are doing a good job.”
“And this motivates me a little.
And gives me faith that the war will end soon.”
Their role illustrates the war in Ukraine.
Is not just a physical battle.
There’s a moral component too.
Reflected in the way.
An army treats both.
The living and the dead.
“We feel grace that the body will finally.
Return from the war.”
He describes his job as bringing.
The dead back from oblivion.
*Because I read “Ukraine war: The men who bring back the dead” by Jonathan Beale on 18 Nov 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 Artur and Denys.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: The men who bring back the dead – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem and another my poem together about the towns along the front line in the east on the BBC news also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
