Poems for Ukraine 25/03/22
Poets have always responded to war by writing poetry — it’s what we do. Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24th February this year people started sending The Friday Poem their poems about the war — poems about resistance, poems of protest, and poems about specific individuals affected by the fighting. These are stories of courage, grief and hope. We have decided to publish some every week. Slava Ukraini!
Under the Rubble by Scott Elder
Primary Colours – Twickenham Early Morning by Simon Rees-Roberts
Under the Rubble
One shadow and only one
the cold prickling your delicate skin
entering each pore asking
someone here? someone in?
your sole witness is voiceless
one bell tolling a single tone
is this the texture of stillness?
a world within is stirring
try to place your index
on the softness of your wrist
the pulse will be insisting
‘I’m your only I’m your only’
is this the morning star?
morning is not now
is it this?
not this not this
Primary Colours – Twickenham Early Morning
The tree tops fill with crows … after the early warmth
as the yellow sun climbs a cobalt sky.
The mist thins then vanishes and all is pin-sharp.
Two Canada geese quell the wail of an ambulance
as they swerve across the river where thought drifts
then land where the breeze puckers the surface to ruched satin
and ripples the blue and yellow flag on the boathouse.
There is no red in this landscape. It has to be imagined.