But he’ll keep the repairs going.
Just as long as ‘orcs’ keep firing.
“We feel a bit hopeless.
Not being able to influence the situation.”
“But if necessary.
We’ll come back and repair.
The lines every day.
The people need light.”
After overnight shelling near Nikopol.
A repair team from DTEK.
Is in the middle of a field.
Overlooking the Dnipro River.
The sound of artillery booms across.
The wide, silver expanse of water.
The battle lines aren’t far from here.
The damage looks slight.
A couple of shallow craters in the field.
And a few low voltage lines.
Draped across Ukraine’s.
Famously dark soil.
But the nearby village.
Of Vyschetarasivka.
Is without power.
Yet again.
The men, some wearing flak jackets.
Get to work, scaling the poles.
And twisting wires together.
Chief engineer says.
“This is pure terror.
Just terrorising the population.
Causing maximum damage.
To the energy infrastructure.”
The chief engineer would much.
Prefer to keep busy.
Modernising and improving.
Ukraine’s electricity network.
But he’ll keep the repairs going.
Just as long as ‘orcs’ keep firing.
“We feel a bit hopeless.
Not being able to influence the situation.”
“But if necessary.
We’ll come back and repair.
The lines every day.
The people need light.”
In the village, half emptied.
By almost a year of war.
The power cuts have become.
More frequent and less predictable.
“Electricity affects.
Pumps and boilers,” says a man.
As he arrives with empty bottles.
To collect water.
“If there’s no power.
People freeze.
And we have to buy water.
From the store.”
“If you have a generator and petrol.
You can survive.
Otherwise, I don’t know.
How older people do it.”
But he’ll keep the repairs going.
Just as long as ‘orcs’ keep firing.
“We feel a bit hopeless.
Not being able to influence the situation.”
“But if necessary.
We’ll come back and repair.
The lines every day.
The people need light.”
The mayor, wrapped up.
Against the biting east wind.
Says those who can’t stand it.
Have already left.
“As long as we’re alive.
And have even a bit of.
Electricity and water.
We’ll keep on living.”
The sound of artillery is getting close.
Forcing the mayor to drop to his knees.
It’s a sensible precaution.
The result of long months of constant danger.
Downriver, beyond Nikopol.
A town shelled day and night.
From ‘orcs’ positions to the south.
There is another team.
But he’ll keep the repairs going.
Just as long as ‘orcs’ keep firing.
“We feel a bit hopeless.
Not being able to influence the situation.”
“But if necessary.
We’ll come back and repair.
The lines every day.
The people need light.”
*Because I read “Ukraine grid attacks: Engineers race to restore electricity supplies” by Paul Adams on 3 Feb 2023, on the BBC News, 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 Volodymyr, Bohdan and Oleksandr.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine grid attacks: Engineers race to restore electricity supplies – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem with other my poems together also on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
