by David Radavich
On the murder of Yuriy Kerpatenko
Ours is the age of barbarians.
When life is valued little
as a song.
A conductor refuses
to lead the music
of his oppressors
and is shot dead
without his baton.
Soldiers who shoot him
fear no lingering guilt,
no final judgment,
no cosmic shame.
The man who dies
is an ant to be squished,
a former echo only.
Let us hope the silence
will accuse forever,
that angels will sing
the conductor
to his final place
enhemmed in flowers.
David Radavich's poetry collections include two epics, America Bound and America Abroad, as well as Middle-East Mezze and The Countries We Live In. His latest book is Unter der Sonne / Under the Sun: German and English Poems (2022).