By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2022

First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind (November 3, 2022)

A message more powerful
than thousands of army troops
spoken by an orphaned boy
wishing that all children
will survive the war with him;

A picture more courageous
than formed by acts of soldiers
from a conquered citizen
waving blue and yellow
atop turrets of a tank;

A plea for help more cogent
than scores of lofty speeches
from a widowed grandmother
imploring arms to fight
for freedom, with more than sticks;

A story of love more real
than any romance written
from a bomb-sheltered mother
deeming three words of love
sufficient to fuel her soul;

A sacrifice more selfless
than kind acts of charity
a soldier detonating
a bomb to fell a bridge
before Russian tanks could pass;

An act more inspiring
than sidelined leaders’ speeches
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
declining help to flee
hunkering in place to lead;

A nation more heroic
than any in our witness
the Ukrainian people
fighting for every inch
of their homeland, may God bless.