you arrived back home
letters ‘tween your teeth
the song on the radio
was ‘sunshine on leith’
you spat out the letters
and happily declared
that the war was over
we needn’t be scared

you ripped off the planks
opened the windows wide
let the sun shine in
on our ukrainian pride
the song on the radio
was cut by breaking news
of troop withdrawals
how we made russians lose

a sudden gust of wind
threw one letter to the floor
off the cuff i scooped it up
the return address i saw
i did not even know
that all joy could be stirred
sound and light could be cut
with only one terse word

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2022