no minute of silence – v3 #poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #Taras #Shevchenko #muse #Ukrainian #glory #freedom #independence #history

Awakening in frozen trenches,
a first drag on another cigarette,
a sip of hot black coffee…
 
At dawn, facing devastation,
numbness on the front,
words will not come, frozen,
pain too extreme, too present,
sitting in the dugouts, the trenches,
seeing an advancing enemy…
 
Time itself caught mid-breath -
a cadence unending -
within the struggle,
within the echoes,
within the bitter cold...
 
Another drag – a Shahed inbound -
time to harden our positions,
to be prepared for the attack,
the terror that never rests…
 
Hope for a just peace
when the dead may rest
and all will be free of this war…
 
All pause at 9:00 am…
each metronome is their drill sergeant,
stopping the traffic in Kyiv, in Kharkiv,
standing at attention in Lviv, Odesa,
holding up hand-made signs, names of the fallen,
countless cities erased by one man’s orders…
 
No moment of honor
can stop the bloodshed –
 
“No minute of silence
can hold a cemetery.”
 
Spirits of the dead cry in the cadence,
such great loss of a nation…
 
Another drag, another cigarette,
to remember, to dull the senses…
“No pack can hold the whole war -
Endless pain, too much to bear…
 
--------
Edited December 23, 2025
no minute of silence – v3
 
based on an Instagram post by Julia Kochetova,
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DRH98GHiKSp/
https://www.instagram.com/seameer/
“War is Personal” book project, by Julia Kochetova
https://www.instagram.com/moment_of_honor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GptmHAwdPgI
Edited December 23, 2025
echoes of the metronome – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/12/echoes-of-metronome-v2.html
during Moment of Honor (Вшануй), at 9:00am daily in Ukraine
https://www.threads.com/@moment_of_honor
https://www.facebook.com/momentofhonor/
https://www.instagram.com/moment_of_honor/
“We are a team that promotes the Minute of Silence,
and the culture of remembrance.
Inspired by Iryna "Cheka" Tsybukh”
Edited August 30, 2024
The dead do not yet rest in peace – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-dead-do-not-yet-rest-in-peace-v2.html
Edited August 28, 2024
The whisper of the dead – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-whisper-of-dead-v2.html
July 16, 2024
The Sound of Lviv Cemetery
https://x.com/United24media/status/1813323219954241935
X (formerly Twitter) post by United24 Media
Edited September 21, 2024
Their best sons and daughters – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/their-best-sons-and-daughters-v3.html
 
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, 202 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, terror, genocide, Russia, peace, victory, Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian, freedom, independence, history, glory,
 
#poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #Taras #Shevchenko #muse #Ukrainian #glory #freedom #independence #history