I see your deep love for one another,
for each one of your fallen, your comrades,
they are alive in you, so real, so precious,
a part of each one of you, present with you,
gathering your honored dead to you, lovingly,
ever present, today, now, alive, as close as breath…
They are part of you, your fabric, your
identity,
part of you in each moment, in every breath,
alive with you now in the present, your fallen
as threads woven in a vyshyvanka, your culture,
hand to heart, to linen, washed in precious blood,
in their sacrifice for their homeland, your country…
I see how you honor them, in each moment,
In time standing still, in remembrance, each day,
in a continuous procession, rituals of memory,
sacred days woven into your collective lives, together,
how you hold them to you, to your hearts, forever,
ever present, today, now, alive, as close as breath…
You hold each of them closely, forever,
present,
you do not forget your fallen, your comrades,
holding each one of them as close as breath,
their legacy of love, of sacrifice, a bond sustaining,
your honored dead with you, present, living, alive,
in their sacrifice for their homeland, for your country…
for each one of your fallen, your comrades,
they are alive in you, so real, so precious,
a part of each one of you, present with you,
gathering your honored dead to you, lovingly,
ever present, today, now, alive, as close as breath…
part of you in each moment, in every breath,
alive with you now in the present, your fallen
as threads woven in a vyshyvanka, your culture,
hand to heart, to linen, washed in precious blood,
in their sacrifice for their homeland, your country…
In time standing still, in remembrance, each day,
in a continuous procession, rituals of memory,
sacred days woven into your collective lives, together,
how you hold them to you, to your hearts, forever,
ever present, today, now, alive, as close as breath…
you do not forget your fallen, your comrades,
holding each one of them as close as breath,
their legacy of love, of sacrifice, a bond sustaining,
your honored dead with you, present, living, alive,
in their sacrifice for their homeland, for your country…
Edited April 4, 2025
You hold each of them so closely
“The acts of Ukrainians, like kneeling as a funeral procession passes for fallen defenders or the Moment of Honor every morning at 9:00am, or the photographs on gravestones of those lost in this war, all show how love is part of the Ukrainian culture.
&
Watch the heartwarming video by Arm Women Now, if you are able... It gives wind to our spirits, if you know Cheka's story. Khrystyna Boychuk is there, who spoke of Cheka at the World Economic Forum at Davos. The time was led by Cheka's mother Oksana... so special, so life-affirming...in the face of war.
&
As their text says,
"Yesterday, we were all united again by Irynka "Cheka". In her memory, in her spirit, in what was important to her ❤️🩹
Edited April 4, 2025
sisters in arms – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/04/sisters-in-arms-v3.html
written after reading post by defender of Ukraine
about serving as a woman in the army,
for International Women’s Day, March 8, 2025
&
February 27, 2025
touching bleeding flesh
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/02/touching-bleeding-flesh-defender.html
(written by a decorated medic on the front lines in Ukraine)
Edited February 26, 2025
touching bleeding flesh – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/02/touching-bleeding-flesh-v2.html
"The present memory of that day" is both 2/24/2022 for Ukraine and Ukrainians
and 2/14/1991 for me personally. I am using my experience of detailed visceral
images of lifting the blood and brains of my father to give even a touch of
authenticity to this poem, merging my conversation with one defender and
the words of that other defender yesterday to write "touching bleeding flesh "
&
Edited February 26, 2025
The present memory of that day – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-present-memory-of-that-day-v2.html
February 25, 2025
Memory of February 24, 2022
as described by defender of Ukraine
&
edited February 15, 2025
Three years of terror, of genocide – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/02/three-years-of-terror-genocide-v2.html
Edited January 13, 2025
Sacred Days – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/01/sacred-days-v3.html
Edited December 8, 2024
Stealing his identity – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/stealing-his-identity-v2.html
Edited December 2, 2024
Stealing History – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/stealing-history-v2.html
Edited November 29, 2024
Designs of their culture – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/11/designs-of-their-culture-v3.html
Edited September 6, 2024
Flying from every flagpole – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/flying-from-every-flagpole-v2.html
Edited May 24, 2024
A cloak of the dead – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/a-cloak-of-dead-v2.html
In this poem I am trying to convey that the dead of Ukraine,
your heroes, are cloaking every #warrior, as if with a new
Vyshyvanka, against your skin, under the armor, the
white fabric's embroidery have been woven with threads
of the blood of the fallen, protecting each of you.
They are your shield, your invisible armor.
I tried to write the poem in the shape of a
Ukrainian Easter Egg, a Pysanky.
poetry, Ukraine, defenders, victory, peace, Stand With Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes, culture, identity, unity, love, spirit, legacy, Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian, Pysanky, Vyshyvanka,
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