May No One Die Today

"The truth is with us - you can't shoot it."

This song (click the image above to hear it) is being sung by 14-ear-old Mikhailo whose father is in the #Ukrainian army in #Donbas, amidst fierce fighting. His mother, not wanting to tell the kids, kept his boots in the hallway for a month. This line in particular rings true:

“The truth is with us: you can't shoot it."

The song itself was written by Skofka for his childhood friend, killed at the front.

And in perfect juxtaposition is this poem by Юлія Ілюха posted by my friend Tetiana Kopytova.

May No One Die Today

May no one die today. Let's keep everyone alive.

Let them dream of red strawberries in tall green grass,

sandy river banks, thick reeds, wooden boats,

that will take us to a past life without war.

Let there be light and rain. Let the drops fall on your face.

Let the silence ring over the mothers and thyme,

and let the funny, fluffy bumblebees swim in it,

while the forest above the river trembles in the white morning mist.

Let the wind blow through your hair. Let your son smile.

Let them smell small matioli under the house and bitter water,

As summer sits behind the obríj, like the sun crimson and hot.

This is just the rain. Just the drops.

But for some reason I am crying. - Юлія Ілюха

Note: Matioli is a kind of wild herb
Obrij means horizon - where the sky appears to meet the earth in the distance