Glory to Ukraine

 

Glory to Ukraine

 

 

It could have been a day

Like any other. Instead,

It was the day people woke up

To rockets rather than alarm clocks.

It was the day smoke clouds mirrored

The minds of baffled world leaders

Who refused to take threats seriously.

 

It could have been a day

like any other, except on this day

grandmothers took up arms

instead of knitting needles,

and teenagers exchanged Facebook for

a chance to throw a Molotov.

 

It could have been a day

Like any other, but on this

Day, women fled to the border

Laden with suitcases and kids, and

Husbands, fathers, brothers, and friends

Stayed behind to fight for their soil.

 

It could have been a day

Like any other, but on this day

A people found Samsonian strength,

A president hunkered down,

A spirit soared with a newfound sense

Of freedom.

 

It could have been a day

Like any other day in any

Other place in the whole wide world.

 

It could have been a day of

Working, schooling, cooking,

Clothing, shopping, singing,

Making love…

 

Instead, on this day, Ukraine woke up

Alone in a world whose words mean nothing

“standing behind” promises as empty as the

Shells on the ground.

A world that glorifies sanctions,

Not actions.

A world that can

And should

But may not ever

Come through.

 

I am no soldier, but

My words are my bullets, and a

Fire today fuels my prayers.

Please know that with a president who

“needs ammunition, not a ride,”

With a people that refuses to surrender

Knowing they’ll die,

With a patriot who blows a bridge

While he’s still on it,

Your sky will be blue and bright,

And the sun will shine again,

And your blue and yellow flag will chant

In the wind: Glory to Ukraine!

 

 

Alexandra Goodwin

 

 

Alexandra Goodwin is a transplant from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and as such, nourishes her soul like an air plant without apparent roots. As she works toward semi-retirement, she has taken residence in her imaginary tree house above her mango tree in Florida. She’s the author of Exchange at the Border, Whispers of the Soul, What Color is Your Haiku? and Caleidoscopio. Her essays and poems have appeared or are upcoming in Ariel Chart, The Centifictionist, Loch Raven Review, Stick Figure Journal, The Miami Herald and others.