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 day of the ‘orcs’ invasion.
A civilian, now 42.
With a government job.
Joined the army.
By spring.
He was one of thousands.
Of ‘elves’ soldiers.
Captured by ‘orcs’.
During the siege of.
The Azovstal steelworks.
In the coastal city.
Of Mariupol.
“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 was held.
For over two years.
For over two years.
And captivity remains.
The most harrowing.
Experience of his life.
“That feeling of.
Being doomed…”
“Out of everything.
I’ve done in the army.
And in life overall.
That was the worst.”
“Not having any idea.
What the future could bring.
Or what would come next.”
Or what would come next.”
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.
During the long days.
Of the siege.
He speaks of.
“A profound reassessment.”
“A profound reassessment.
Of my values.
– it felt as if you suddenly.
Start rushing to live”.
He thought about.
His life before.
And after the war.
And set goals.
And set goals.
For how he would live.
If he managed to survive.
If he managed to survive.
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.
He is now.
In rehabilitation.
And lives with his wife.
And two children.
“If I look at my photo.
From before.
The full-scale invasion.
I can say only one thing:”
“Oh, kid.
You have no idea.
What still awaits you.”
“Oh, kid.”
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 Serhii, 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
