Greetings, World

Greetings, World!

I know you are watching us -
I see the frightened gaze of the Polish nation,
The hesitant gestures of the French,
The measured steps of the Germans,
The nervous outcries of Latvia,
The sceptics of Hungary,
The feeble mumbling of Italy,
The muteness of Israel,
The distant echoes of the USA and Canada,
And the eyes of a hundred other nations
Of this world uncomfortably watching,
Watching,
Watching,

I know that your eyes are on Ukraine.
I know that what you see makes you ill-at-ease.
You drop your  gaze,
You look away.
You cannot watch as we cover our children
With our bodies – protecting them
From non-stop rocket barrages.
And when, once again,
You gather up the courage to
Look again –
You are struck –
Who are these people?
These Ukrainians??
This Ukraine???
They pour volleys of lethal hailstorms upon Her!
And yet, She Stands.

They cover her with flying rocket fire!
And still, She Stands.

From all sides, clanging tanks attack her!
Still, She Stands.

From afar she hears:
“I am very sorry, and
We are deeply concerned,
But….”
#)($&! “Do what you need to do. I have to go now and
Shoot down another enemy aircraft…”
They are aiming nuclear weapons between her eyes,
She keeps mixing up Molotov cocktails….
The World is holding its breath,
It’s buying up iodine…
Yet, Ukraine Stands.

What is She made of? This Ukraine??
What kind of steel???
What was in the milk of her mothers????
What are they feeding these
Thousands of volunteer fighters?????
You know….
Actually, you do not know.
Actually, neither did we,
Until this day,
Until this day even we did not know
That we had such might, such strength,
And such love.
It was always there,
Lying under the ruins wrought upon us
By decades of Evil invaders.
Lying under the ruins, quietly  –
The white plumage of the
Dove of Peace,
The roots of the Tree of Love.
Lying.
And waiting.
Waiting -
To burst forth. With Love.
Yes, dear World,
With Love.
Fear – that is what you, dear World, are feeling.
What we feel is somewhat different –

We feel Fury –
For every child killed.
For every mutilated life.
For every scorched city and town.
For every ruined dream.
And this Fury –
This Fury gives us strength.

We feel Freedom.
For the first time –
The taste of Freedom
So clear and strong!
Naked, vulnerable, and at the same time
POWERFUL.
And this Freedom –
This Freedom give us strength.

We feel Love,
God! How we are feeling love!
There is no more “ours” and “theirs”
We are all completely and totally related!
Millions of helping hands are purposefully
Working together to clear a path to Peace!
A million helping hearts , each in his own way.
Building a path to Peace.
And this Love.
This Love gives us strength.

Therefore, dear World,
Be not afraid.
We are on guard.
We are taking the first watch.
Allow me to answer
The question
You so fear to ask:
“Yes,
Spring will come again,
And it shall be
Blue and Gold.
It will come,
Whether or not you fear.”

Olena Pshenychna ( transl.T.Riabokin)