Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Most of their time.
Is spent digging.
A new bunker.
Into the hillside.
They’re outgunned.
And outmanned.
By the ‘orcs’ invaders.
Who are inching closer.
By the ‘orcs’ invaders.
5km away.
In the eastern Donetsk region.
Who are inching closer.
The sentiment in.
Your wooded trench mirrors.
The ‘elves’ government’s mantra of.
“Fighting for as long as it takes”.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Thousands of trained troops.
Like him, a radio operator.
In the 21st.
Separate Mechanised Brigade.
Have been fighting.
For the best part of.
Two years.
Without a proper rest.
“If we go home.
Inexperienced soldiers might.
Be able to hold the line.
Against the ‘orcs’.”
“But a lot of them will die.”
He taps his handset.
In a bunker where he also.
Sleeps with four other soldiers.
The thickness of the air.
Tells you it’s well lived in.
The thickness of the air.
Tells you it’s well lived in.
Outside, the woodland provides.
An illusion of calm.
Periodically jarred by.
A whistling artillery shell overhead.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
This time last year.
The arrival of spring’s.
Hard soil brought.
A sense of optimism.
A sense of optimism.
With an anticipated counter-offensive.
The conditions make it easier.
To move men and machinery.
Today, it just makes.
These troops’ job of.
Digging new defences.
More difficult.
“My men have become.
Professionals after.
Fighting for so long.”
Says their commander proudly.
He points to.
Their mobile rocket launcher.
Under camouflage netting.
“They know each vehicle.”
“Is like a woman.
Each one is individual.
With her own whims.
And characteristics.”
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Tucked away.
Their 1970s truck.
Symbolises the current state.
Of ‘elves’ military.
Old-fashioned in many ways.
Yet modern in others.
With a GPS guiding system.
It lacks one key resource: rockets.
While ‘orcs’ army isn’t.
A model of modern warfare.
It is advancing on multiple parts.
Of the eastern front line.
It’s why you’re seeing.
New ‘elves’ trenches.
Being dug.
30km back.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
*Because I read “Ukraine War: ‘If we go home, a lot of inexperienced soldiers will die’” by James Waterhouse on 6 May 2024, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Oleksandr and “Chyzh” in the 21st separate Mechanised Brigade.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine War: ‘If we go home, a lot of inexperienced soldiers will die’ (bbc.com)
