Beauty Joy Amidst War: Letters from Kyiv

A short poem in the moment

Child playing in Kyiv on 5th day of war. Photo by Author

Death surrounds us, the feeling of it, you can smell it in the air
Dogs sniff the newly fallen snow on the streets of Kyiv
On this first day of Spring on the fifth day of this war
Old women smile as I pass, one greeting in Ukrainian the other in Russian
They were walking together and they made that moment count for me
My wife walking toward me and not seeing me as…