Saturday, March 12, 2022

WHEN WAR COMES

by Tricia Knoll




At first the war seemed far away from dying manatees, 
slaughtered wolves, prices at the pump, and bomb cyclones.  
 
Then I asked myself IF I had ever
            eaten from plastic boxes in an air-raid shelter
            witnessed the death of my children on Instagram
            slept in a subway station on one old blanket
            carried a bleeding pregnant woman from a bombed-out hospital
            met my neighbors for the first time in a shelter
            tried to explain why my dog should get food
            pushed twelve women and children into a minibus
            moved my grandmother in a wheelbarrow
            asked where all the shoes went in the shoe store
            lined up all my books—from Dante to Harry Potter
                        to Yeats and Dickinson as shields from bullets
            considered shooting a saboteur on my street
            sang a song to comfort strangers
            clutched my passport every minute of every day
            cooked for a soldier in the basement
            hoped there was enough water for bedtime
            decided to name a newborn as a missile fell
            realized I had to leave behind the family Bible
            worried about who is running the nuclear plant
            mixed a Molotov cocktail in yesterdays’ Chablis bottle
            tried to resurrect the footprint of my family’s home
            fled from ancestral graveyards
            appreciated bright stars in a black-out
 
in dark days for the globe—midst pandemic, 
climate change, aggression, lies, inflation, poverty,
and pollution. What song does the Earth sing today? 


Tricia Knoll understands concerns about rising gas prices and inflation. She is able to drive less, to stay home while others cannot and buy less. The televising of the war against Ukraine is ceaseless and compelling, She wishes we could act as if we are all residents of Earth, what destroys one hurts us all as citizens of this globe.