In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
The photo on the left.
Was taken in early 2022.
– a few weeks before he took.
What he, 28, says was.
The most important decision.
Of his life.
The most important decision.
Of his life.
He had already.
Served four years.
In the army and.
Moved to Poland.
But the afternoon.
Of the start of.
The ‘orcs’ invasion.
He went back to Ukraine:
“Not because.
I wasn’t afraid.
But because.
I had no choice.”
“It’s a Snark!” was the sound that first came to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words “It’s a Boo—”
“In these photos.
I am young.
A little boy.”
He says now.
“I barely remember.
Myself like that anymore.
But I remember.
Very clearly who I became.”
“But I remember.
Very clearly who I became.
And who the war.
Turned me into.”
Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
That sounded like “-jum!” but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.
When he shared.
These photos on social media.
Thousands of ‘elves’ soldiers.
Followed suit:
“Our eyes say a lot.
There’s no need to even.
Spell out the things.
We have seen or done.”
Almost all.
The friends.
He joined up with.
Have died.
They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.
“I look at these photos.
And it’s like.
A different person.
But at the same time.”
“But at the same time.
I’m still me.
– just someone who didn’t.
Know what was ahead.”
“It’s probably good.
That I didn’t know.”
“It’s probably good.
That I didn’t know.”
In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
*Because I read “Civilians to soldiers: how four years of war has changed ordinary Ukrainians” by Laura Gozzi on 21 Feb 2026, 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 Viktor, led by ‘The Hunting of the Snark’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Civilians to soldiers: how four years of war has changed ordinary Ukrainians
