The damage is as colossal.
As the cathedral itself.
There is no doubt this was.
A direct hit from a missile.
The archdeacon of the cathedral.
Said he was the first person.
To arrive at the scene.
“The destruction is enormous;”
The cracks along its walls represent.
The strain Odesa has found.
Itself under after a week of.
Constant attacks from the skies.
“Half of the cathedral was.
Left without a roof.
And the central piles and.
Foundation were destroyed.”
The building’s thick ancient walls.
Are still standing.
But there are pillars.
Leaning at a worrying angle.
“All the windows and.
Stucco moulding were.
Blown out.
There was a fragmentary fire.”
Teams have been ferociously.
Picking up debris.
Since the impact in the small hours.
Of this morning.
“The part where icons and candles.
Are sold in the church.
Caught fire.
It was all on fire, burning.”
The damage is as colossal.
As the cathedral itself.
There is no doubt this was.
A direct hit from a missile.
*Because I read “Ukraine war: Russian strikes on Odesa damage Orthodox cathedral” by James Waterhouse & George Wright on 24 Jul 2023, 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 Andriy Palchuk.
Please read the original story and watch the photos on the BBC news:
Ukraine war: Russian strikes on Odesa damage Orthodox cathedral (bbc.com)
**My friend kindly shows you this poem in one page of the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them! You can read my 100 poems here at once.
