“How can people be so cruel to each other?” – v6 #poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #tragedy #terror #genocide #Russia #valor #martyrs #heroes #peace #humanity #love #innocentblood #cruelty #anger #hate #warcrimes #crimesagainsthumanity #UnitedNations #YuriiHulchuk #WeStandWithUkraine

He became mute, traumatized, and terrorized,
tortured, bloodied, and beaten…
unable to speak, become a specter, a shell,
hiding deep within, protecting who he is…
But there has been a warming in his spirit,
reborn, beginning to speak, to struggle, to ask…
Asking THE important questions, truly,
the essential question, the challenge, to this world,
to leaders, for all mankind, the question to humanity…
 
“How can people be so cruel to each other?” he cries,
A freed prisoner begs us, “Why so much pain?”
He begs, “Why are there so many lies?”
in this moment of chaos, of hate, of war,
encircling this world, stalking the globe…
How could this happen, again, again,
aggression, conquest, torture, genocide,
When the world pledged, “Never Again!”,
after the Holocaust, 80 years ago…
 
This essential question, a struggle for our time,
for meaning, reconciliation, for peace to ascend,
out of the ashes of war, terror, genocide,
encircling this planet, too many to count,
martyrs and enemies, so much innocent blood…
Children in the crosshairs, old lives cut down,
lives lost to tragedy, a reign of terror falling,
“How can people be so cruel to each other?” …
How can we change that somehow?...
 
What is the path forward, out of these dark times?
How can we tear down the walls between us,
a different path, a more just future, for all of us…
Where have we gone so wrong, humanity we have lost,
the pain, the trauma, a legacy heavy upon us…
So many lives are cut down, lives freezing in time,
distracted from our paths, our hopes, our dreams…
The lament of this son who pleads with us,
to find a way out of madness, to live in peace…
 
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Edited December 2, 2025
“How can people be so cruel to each other?” – v6
 
Edited November 30, 2024
How can people be so cruel to each other – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/11/how-can-people-be-so-cruel-to-each.html
Edited September 27, 2024
How can people be so cruel to each other – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/how-can-people-be-so-cruel-to-each_27.html
Edited September 26, 2024
How can people be so cruel to each other – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/how-can-people-be-so-cruel-to-each_26.html
Edited September 26, 2024
How can people be so cruel to each other – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/how-can-people-be-so-cruel-to-each.html
September 26, 2024
How can people be so cruel to each other
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/how-can-people-be-so-cruel-to-each-other.html
September 26, 2024
Twitter post by Anton Gerashchenko
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1839272173401211031
“"Why so much pain? Why so many lies? Why are people so cruel to each other?" - the first words of 22-year-old marine Yurii Hulchuk, who lost his speech and the ability to experience emotions due to torture in Russian captivity.
His mother was told by Warriors who had returned from captivity earlier that her son stopped speaking back in June of 2022. Yurii returned to Ukraine on September 14, 2024. His condition shocked everyone who saw him. But despite the doctors' disappointing prognosis, Yurii started to speak.”
September 26, 2024
Twitter post by Anton Gerashchenko
https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1839264945206120804
September 26, 2024
Twitter post by Olexander Scherba
https://x.com/olex_scherba/status/1839234252744913297
“Ukrainian PoW who lost his ability to speak - he started talking!”
https://x.com/i/status/1839234252744913297  
 
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
 
poetry, Ukraine, God, prayer, war, tragedy, terror, genocide, Russia, peace, humanity, love, innocent blood, cruelty, anger, hate, war crimes, crimes against humanity, United Nations, Yurii Hulchuk,
 
#poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #tragedy #terror #genocide #Russia #valor #martyrs #heroes #peace #humanity #love #innocentblood #cruelty #anger #hate #warcrimes #crimesagainsthumanity #UnitedNations #YuriiHulchuk #WeStandWithUkraine