Warfare of the Brain

He is no more

Older than twenty-four,

Cover clung snug, well-armed,

Rapidly replacing the nostalgized linger

Of tugging a wool beanie over his poor mother:

“We will be safe from harm.”

But not as hefty

As when trembling thunder and lightning levied

To batter behind his borderlines.

Nor his schlepping boots,

Charging in blood-red pursuit,

To the damned frontlines.

With the click-clacking of a lever

And the crick-crackling by the trigger,

He summons forth his raging rain.

Smite the gyrfalcons--!

Schwip!

Thud!

Cremated on a pyre of concrete rock,

Skull crowned with a crimson vinok,

Into the smoky sky he departs. His dusha,

Though nameless, exemplary of his land’s motto

To those who are yet to but will follow,

Snugly clutching a cover for the people’s slava.

vinok – traditional Ukranian flower wreath worn by young girls and unmarried women

dusha – Ukranian word for soul

slava – Ukranian word for glory, taken from the phrase “Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!” (“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”)

We stand with Ukraine.