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.
Before 2022.
His life was good.
“I had a wife.
Two children, a house.”
“– everything I needed.
I had plans.”
The war, he says.
Took it all away.
“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—”
He, now 35, was held.
In captivity in ‘Mordor’.
For several weeks.
In 2022.
And watched comrades.
Being abused.
And watched comrades.
Being abused.
“It was hard.
When you can’t.
Even stand up.
To defend them.”
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.
The return to freedom.
In Ukraine was.
No less difficult.
No less difficult.
“Very often you run into.
The fact that.
You’re nobody.”
You’re nobody.”
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.
“And for soldiers.
This happens a lot:
While you’re fighting.
You’re something.”
“You’re someone.
As soon as you stop.
– then that’s it.
You’re nobody.”
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 Kyrylo, 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
