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I
I tell him we need our skies closed.
Ukraine is almost as big as Texas,
but russia can bomb the whole thing.
Ukraine is almost as big as Texas,
but Americans worry about
boots on the ground.
Ukraine is bigger than France
But the French only worry
about meeting Poutine
across a table the size of Paris.
And russia can bomb the whole place
The whole place
The whole place
The whole place
“We’re afraid russia will be enmired
in guerilla warfare for a long time.”
“It must be awful for the russian soldiers.”
Awful for the russian soldiers
Awful for the russian soldiers
Awful for the russian soldiers
You mean the ones who steal
toilets, underwear, washing machines,
and sell them in belarus?
or the ones who tell their wives
about the women they’ve raped?
or the ones who rape children to death,
the ones who beat and torture,
the ones who shoot in the head,
shoot in the back,
shoot people walking down
a street near their home
shoot people riding their bikes
with a small bag of food
What about us, the ones being
robbed, raped, ruined, rubbed out?
What about us, Ukrainians?
Are we just the latest series
in your viral reality lives?
Nothing that happens between now
and your hypothetical then matters.
We are already all ghosts.
The world is mesmerized
and in its trance
it’s paralyzed, too paralyzed
to protect even itself
against the hellish horde.
II
Kyiv and Kharkiv came first
and the very first wave
mostly went abroad,
as refugees.
The second wave was the same,
but with no intention
of being refugees,
just IDPs.
The third wave was Kyivites
actually going back to their city.
Kharkiv folks have little
to go back to, such a pity.
The husband got a job
as a pizza cook
and his wife does manicures.
They help in the garden.
Their 10-year old is into
rhythmic gymnastics
and practices by the spruce.
The grandma smokes
like a chimney, unhappy.
The pinkish grey cat
hides in the little house;
she won’t come out,
not even for a mouse.
III
Right now it’s Odesa’s turn.
Shopping malls, warehouses,
theaters, schools.
The fourth wave is heading
to Budapest and Vienna.
IV
In desperation, the russians
are now promoting Beria
as “a just leader” who will
keep people in line,
protect their women,
and manage food shortages.
They have no future,
only a terrible past
that they keep trying
to "rehabilitate"
and keep working
to kill our future.
We won’t let them.
March 1, 2022
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