by Sam Friedman
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| Shutterstock photo by Pietre Laborde |
Blessed are the children of Paris
for they open doorways
so their people can dismantle
the towers of power.
Blessed are Pasha and Ania
for they save lives
amidst a genocidal war.
Blessed is Vladislav
who fought the imperial invaders
of his native Ukraine
and refused to submit
to the fascist thugs who savagely beat him
in the delusion that they were defending
the nation he defends.
And blessed are the cockroach archeologists
who dig up the poems we wrote
about our long-dead civilization
so our hopes can re-echo
amidst cockroach revolutionaries
so next time, we do not fail.
Author’s note: I first met Pavlo (Pasha) Smyrnov and Ania Korobchuk professionally; they have been very active in harm reduction programs and research around HIV/AIDS in Ukraine. Since the full scale invasion, they have organized medical assistance for villages near the front lines. Vladislav Starodubtsev was in the news recently. All of them are friends of mine.
Sam Friedman is a poet, activist, and public health researcher. He has published two books of poetry and poems in a variety of magazines.
