Happy Poetry Friday!
My heart is with the Brave Ukrainian people. I was hoping to share a Ukrainian poet, poetry, but work caught up with me, perhaps next Friday… My poem, a draft, comes from my ancestral connections with Ukraine moving back on both sides of my family, and all the horrors unfolding in this unjust war. It’s waiting for a title…
Daughter of
Daughter of
Daughter of
Kyiv
Continents crossed
Long ago.
Daughter of
Father of
Father of
Odessa
Continents crossed
Long ago.
Ancestral ties
Tug at heart
Tethered
Through
Time
Call
Me
Back…
Innocent Ukraine’s
Caught in crossfire
Innocent Ukraine’s
losing their lives.
Children and children
Mothers and fathers
Brothers and sisters
Aunts and uncles
Bloodied tethers
Ruthless bloodshed
Monstrous war crimes
Purposeless
Pointless
Unbreathable
War…
© 2022 Michelle Kogan
draft
Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong are hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at their blog,
Poetry for Children, thanks for hosting! Be sure to stop by they have lots of poetry to fill your palate, plus a new book with lots of poems to whet your appetite!
Michelle Kogan Illustration, Painting, & Writing 
Heartbreaking. I’m just horrified at what’s happening. Such senseless evil. Thank you for putting your ties into poetry.
Thank you for this heartfelt post and the beautiful symbol of peace. I also have ties to the Ukraine on my father’s side, so your poem was particularly poignant to me.
I love your watercolor dove painting flying for Ukraine and your ancestral poem that pulls at my heart. Your use of repetition is very effective in your poem. I am outraged and horrified about the innocent lives being murdered. I admire Ukraine’s braveness and tenacity. Thank you for sharing.
Powerful words, Michelle – I’m having a hard time with the news, and I don’t have any family connections there; holding your distant family and all those brave citizens close in thought and heart. Your dove is absolutely beautiful, and far from being a passive subject, in its eye you’ve put such a strong, determined, and steely look.
Wow, Michelle, I really feel this one. And I adore your dove. xo
Thank you for the beautiful dove and heartfelt poem, Michelle. It’s so hard to think about the unthinkable these days. The Ukrainian people have proven to the world how proud, courageous, and resilient they are. Kind of puts into perspective those here who are still whining about their “freedom” not to wear masks. . . they’re circling the DC beltway in a truck convoy even as we speak.
I love your dove, Michelle, & the thoughtful words in your post, “Tethered Through Time”, personal for you, universal for all of us who want peace, not war.
So powerful, Michelle. You showed us why we ESPECIALLY need poetry in times like these. Thank you.
To quote Glennon Doyle, your poem is “brutiful”, Michelle. And your dove is everything.
Oh Michelle, I can feel your heartbreak and your anger and your connectedness to Ukraine. Praying for the hope and peace your art conveys!
Michelle, wow, what a powerful poem. Your connection to Ukraine comes through strongly.
“Bloodied tethers” really jumped out to me today.
And this thought-provoking ending:
“Purposeless
Pointless
Unbreathable
War…”
This is so powerful Michelle. The brevity of the lines and the unfinished phrases give it an almost breathless quality as I read it – the same feeling I get whenever I think of this war and what is happening there. Thank you for sharing this with us today.
The repetition echoes. “Thoughtless, unbreathable war.” Heartbreaking.
What a gut-punch. You captured the emotions and the senselessness of it all.
Michelle, I’ve been seeking out poetry by Ukrainian poets, so this is such a meaningful look at our Ukrainian connections. Lovely! Thank you for sharing!
So powerful–I was just making a small donation to aid for Ukraine before I read this. And your word “unbreathable…” Perfect.