Hey all! Been a while since I last wrote a poem. Well, finished one, to be more precise.😁 But finally, the jinx is broken, and here goes my latest one:

Woke up from my sleep,
So peaceful and deep,
At dawn, just after four,
By loud banging at the door.
Startled, I opened the gate,
Found an angry mob of eight,
Abusing, calling me names,
Raising some unfounded claims –

Claims on our home,
Our children’s home.

Out walked my kids and wife,
To check on all the strife.
But these vile thugs, full of hate,
Were in no mood to debate.
Small men, with bruised egos,
They started raining blows,
With reason in a tailspin,
Viciously shoved their way in –

Into our home,
Our children’s home.

They ravaged the place,
At light’ning fast pace,
Of a simple family,
That used to live happily.
Tears, screams, a profound gash,
Memories turned to ash,
As our world came undone,
I asked my wife to run –

Run from our home,
Our children’s home.

A crowd gathered outside,
Offering to provide,
Food, shelter to my people,
A safe haven from evil.
Well… at least they will live.
Though with zilch left to give,
As an asylum bestowed,
Is no match for one’s abode.

Not for our home,
Our children’s home.

Friends, neighbors – all I implore.
They condemn, but nothing more,
Just looking on at the scene,
Not daring to intervene,
With families to protect,
Afraid and averse to act,
To do what’s right,
And join the fight –

The fight in our home,
Our children’s home.

At dusk, a blood moon rises,
Thirsty for sacrifices.
Of course, it will get its fill.
It will, indeed, test my will.
And they will regret the day,
When they chose to come this way.
I’ll do what must be done.
I won’t stop till I’ve won –

Won back our home,
Our children’s home.

This choice was forced on me,
To give in, die, or flee,
All choices come with a toll,
And I’ll pay mine with my soul.
But before my tale ends,
Answer me this, my friends:
What do you think you will do,
When, next, they come for you –

For your home,
Our children’s home.

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Hope you liked it. If you’d like to read more, you can find my previous poems here.

Coming back to this one: I’m sure you guys understand what it is about. What’s happening right now in Ukraine is a massive tragedy. And this is coming on the back of the last couple of years, where the world, Ukraine included, has already suffered so much due to Covid. 

I don’t think words can do justice to what those poor souls would be going through right now. Can you imagine just waking up in the middle of the night to flee your home, your country, with a handful of belongings? Even more importantly, can you imagine parting with your loved ones – either because they were brutally killed by a stray bullet, or random bombing, or because they have to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend their country, their loved ones? Horrific choices and experiences that nobody should have to face.

Despite all the hardships, the Ukrainian people have shown remarkable resilience and determination to defend their values, their freedom to make their own choices. No words of appreciation can be enough for them. I’ll just say this: I’d be proud of myself if I had half, or even quarter, as much courage and heart as them! 

Also, let’s not confuse this as “Russia” vs “Ukraine”. “Russia” is not at war with Ukraine, because one man doesn’t define what “Russia” is or wants. I wrote some time back about the “concept of a country” which illustrates the same point – when it comes to war, we need to be careful whom we attribute it to. I’ve been seeing reports in the media of Russian people all over the world facing hardships and boycotts because of the actions of certain individuals in power. I hope we can temper our reactions to be directed towards the specific individuals responsible for these atrocities, and not take out our justifiable anger on innocents, who had no say or interest in this war at all. Hatred always begets more hatred. Let’s not fall victim to the same malady that the perpetrators of these crimes have fallen to.

War is the ultimate killer. It either kills you directly, or it leaves you alive, and it’s difficult to say which one is worse.

Let’s just pray and hope that the current conflict ends soon, and doesn’t escalate into anything bigger.

Let’s try and build a better world for ourselves, in our own little ways, doing whatever we can. I strongly believe in the saying, “Do what you can, when you can, where you can.”

Hope to see you in a better tomorrow.

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Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash