Their best sons and daughters

How great is their nation’s loss,
after a decade of terror, of destruction,
of genocide, of blood in the streets,
of endless attacks by the enemy,
killing everything in their path…
 
Their best sons and daughters,
of this people, this nation, lost,
taken by the slaughter, the carnage,
anguished cries in shelters, under
constant missile sirens, terror unleashed…
 
Time stands still, frozen, lives ripped
from their own paths, their freedom,
taking up arms against the enemy,
resolute in their shared struggles,
protecting the land that they love…  
 
Their best sons and daughters,
witnesses now to the horrors,
standing in defiance against terror,
the complacency of others, too timid,
to stand in the gap for them…

-----------
September 17, 2024
Their best sons and daughters
 
&

Edited September 10, 2024
The Flag of their Independence – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-flag-of-their-independence-v2.html
Edited September 8, 2024
Trampled, beaten, yet unbowed – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/trampled-beaten-yet-unbowed-v2.html
Edited September 6, 2024
Flying from every flagpole – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/flying-from-every-flagpole-v2.html
National Day of Remembrance – August 29, 2024
Ukraine Independence Day – August 24, 2024
Ukraine National Flag Day – August 23, 2024
&
Edited September 10, 2024
Freezing in the Darkness – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/freezing-in-darkness-long-brutal-winter.html
Edited September 10, 2024
Streets of their cities run red with blood – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/streets-of-their-cities-run-red-with.html
September 10, 2024
Let Ukraine Strike Back
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/let-ukraine-strike-back.html
September 10, 2024
The stain of innocent blood – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-stain-of-innocent-blood-v5.html
Edited September 10, 2024
A just peace must rise – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/a-just-peace-must-rise-v4.html
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
August 29, 2014
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 August 27, 2024
The stain of innocent blood – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-stain-of-innocent-blood-v4.html 
Edited August 27, 2024
Streets of Kharkiv run red with blood – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/streets-of-kharkiv-run-red-with-blood-v2.html
Edited September 1, 2024
Too close to the border – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/too-close-to-border-v3.html
Edited August 19, 2024
The dead cry out – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-dead-cry-out-v2.html
Edited August 1, 2024
Resolve personified – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/08/resolve-personified-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, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
 
poetry, Ukraine, God, prayer, war, tragedy, terror, genocide, Russia, peace, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, Day of Remembrance, Ilovaisk, Poltava, Let Ukraine Strike Back,
 
#poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #tragedy #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #Poltava #Kharkiv #Kyiv #Lviv #DayofRemembrance #Ilovaisk #strikethearchers #LetUkraineStrikeBack