When their mothers, their wives, their children
come to pay respects for the fallen,
The heroes of Russia, the blessed dead,
brought home to their bosom,
Laid in the cold ground, desecrated,
their graves torn asunder, destroyed,
forgotten by the masses, the empire,
The dictator in the walled city, the Kremlin,
the Dead Souls of a nation, martyrs,
a mere asterisk in history…
the cost of the hubris, the arrogance,
the lust for empire of the emperor,
the last tsar of Russia, of Muscovy,
Pushing the army farther
into the blades of the chipper,
The meat grinder assaults
All of them cannon fodder,
branches for the fire,
Nothing will be left of them
No honor, no legacy…
the dictator in the Kremlin,
uncaring about his people,
those who are starving,
those without water, fuel,
Soon to be without power,
even those he sent to their death,
Their graves, the markers turned under,
Forgotten heroes of Russia,
Buried in the cold ground…
come to pay respects for the fallen,
The heroes of Russia, the blessed dead,
brought home to their bosom,
Laid in the cold ground, desecrated,
their graves torn asunder, destroyed,
forgotten by the masses, the empire,
The dictator in the walled city, the Kremlin,
the Dead Souls of a nation, martyrs,
a mere asterisk in history…
the cost of the hubris, the arrogance,
the lust for empire of the emperor,
the last tsar of Russia, of Muscovy,
Pushing the army farther
into the blades of the chipper,
The meat grinder assaults
All of them cannon fodder,
branches for the fire,
Nothing will be left of them
No honor, no legacy…
the dictator in the Kremlin,
uncaring about his people,
those who are starving,
those without water, fuel,
Soon to be without power,
even those he sent to their death,
Their graves, the markers turned under,
Forgotten heroes of Russia,
Buried in the cold ground…
----
Edited September 8, 2025
Martyrs for the Madman – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/09/martyrs-for-madman-v2.html
X post by Kate from Kharkiv
https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/1965105122889142432
X post of Visegrad 24
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1965010362287194567
video
https://x.com/i/status/1965010362287194567
May 20, 2024
Do the mothers in Russia know? – v7
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/do-mothers-in-russia-know-v7.html
(converting Ukrainian back to English)
As of 5/20/2024, as estimated by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU),
Russian military casualties, including deaths and loss of combat capability due to injuries.
May 20, 2024
Чи знають матері в Росії? – v6
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v6.html
(in Ukrainian)
May 20, 2024
Знают ли мамы в России? – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v5.html
(in Russian)
May 20, 2024
Do the mothers in Russia know? – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/do-mothers-in-russia-know-v4.html
(In English)
May 16, 2024
Чи знають матері в #Росії? – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v3.html
(in Ukrainian)
May 16, 2024
Знают ли мамы в России? – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v2.html
(in Russian)
May 15, 2024
Do mothers in Russia know?
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/blog-post.html
(in English and Russian)
Martyrs for the Madman – v2
https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/1965105122889142432
X post of Visegrad 24
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1965010362287194567
video
https://x.com/i/status/1965010362287194567
May 20, 2024
Do the mothers in Russia know? – v7
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/do-mothers-in-russia-know-v7.html
(converting Ukrainian back to English)
As of 5/20/2024, as estimated by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU),
Russian military casualties, including deaths and loss of combat capability due to injuries.
May 20, 2024
Чи знають матері в Росії? – v6
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v6.html
(in Ukrainian)
May 20, 2024
Знают ли мамы в России? – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v5.html
(in Russian)
May 20, 2024
Do the mothers in Russia know? – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/do-mothers-in-russia-know-v4.html
(In English)
May 16, 2024
Чи знають матері в #Росії? – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v3.html
(in Ukrainian)
May 16, 2024
Знают ли мамы в России? – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/v2.html
(in Russian)
May 15, 2024
Do mothers in Russia know?
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/05/blog-post.html
(in English and Russian)
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 all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
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