It doesn’t have to be this way.
from Ukraine to people all over the world
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Once more we tilt
hack our own axis
drag our scarecrows in
to take a seat by this winter’s fire.
As the sky falls apart
we watch
talking heads report
on repeat
on shellings, on shelters
on exit wounds.
A girl
a sinking rock in an unraveled mother’s arms
clutches a jack-in-the-box of dreams
we know it’ll explode, we just can’t say when
and she’s already forgetful
of what it means
to be soft.
A father
on buckled knees, shows up with his bravest smile:
When we meet again, my sweet
when the sirens are silenced
and I kiss your cheek goodnight
I promise we’ll shine brighter than bombs.
How many men have we seen
unable and unwilling to flee
bleed dignity in defense of their home?
How many bare-knuckled grandmothers
have we watched step up to the ring?
In my alternative end
every soldier hears
the nearest human heart
no matter whose side of the wire it appears
pulsing with hope
chiming for chance
and refuses
to fight.
Trading gun for spade
they break the frozen ground
rip the dark roots out
graft sun onto shade
and flood trenches
with birds of paradise.
The borders they sow
are meadows
of yellow and blue miracles.
There’s no difference
in the labour required
to kill or to plough
it’s just what
we choose
to put in the ground.