In memory of Victoria Amelina (1986-2023),
Ukrainian writer and documenter
of Russian war crimes.
A real beauty. That’s how Russian Colonel General
Andrey Kartapolov describes the missile that uncoils
in a restaurant in Kramatorsk. Filled with civilians.
This is real beauty: A steel beam piercing warm
flesh. Unspun blood. A limb tossed to the roof
of a nearby car. This is not a blow, but a song,
rhapsodizes the colonel general, so overcome
by all the dread beauty that he never notices
he is the one who is dead. He, Andrey Kartapolov,
dead in heart, tongue, brain. Dead in bowel
and wrist, ankle and anus. Dead in knuckle,
wart, vein. Dead in each thick nostril hair.
Each thick, vomitous word. Even as he swoons,
slightly woozy from all the sumptuous beauty
bestowed on him by the blown up and the burnt.*
John Bradley
*13 civilians were killed and 60 wounded by this Russian missile
.
A moving poem about yet another tragedy. Thank you for sharing.
Comment by Mark Greener on 3 August, 2023 at 1:26 pmAll war is evil and should be stopped. But what about US war crimes? Cluster Bombs? Please stop casting Russia as an unprovoked aggressor. They were heavily provoked by the power of Nazis in Ukraine (and armed forces bearing Nazi emblems) and supported by the US. This is a US proxy war that puts the Ukranians in danger of death whilst the US people are miles away. So please, stop sucking up the US Empire propaganda.
Comment by Tom on 5 August, 2023 at 3:11 pmNamaste.