THE NEW VERSE (DOT) NEWS THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 CONSIDERING WAR by Amy Shimshon-Santo https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2022/03/considering-war.html

Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) after Cesar Vallejo (“considerando el frío, imparcialmente”) considering that bombs leave craters in the earth making it difficult to mobilize hospitals, carry pregnant mothers across fields of rubble comprehending the cold breath of sunday broken bridges, families gathered beneath them without exact destinations beyond a border understanding that mammals with bombs are cold hearted explosive-death-machines, considering that men —and I will call them that because of their bombs — explode sites leaving the enduring silence of family members understanding that a cadaver cannot speak & I am just a storyteller still living with the possibility of voice I will make my breath a sign painted in horror across the sky that begs the bombing to stop Amy Shimshon-Santo is a poet and educator who believes that culture is a powerful tool for personal and social transformation. Her interdisciplinary work connects the arts, education, and urbanism. She is the author of Even the Milky Way Is Undocumented (Unsolicited Press, Pushcart Prize & Rainbow Reads Award nominee). Posted by Editor2 at 6:30 PM Labels: Amy Shimshon-Santo, bombs, border, cadaver, horror, hospitals, mammals, poetry, The New Verse News, Ukraine Newer PostOlder Post

from Elizabeth Lesser CALLING ON THE MOTHERS This is a photo of a captured Russian soldier in Ukraine. Ukrainians gave him tea, food, and let him call his mother on video. I read today in several news outlets that the Ukrainian defense ministry has published telephone numbers and an email address to provide information about captured Russian soldiers. On Wednesday defense officials urged the mothers of captured Russian soldiers to travel to Kyiv to pick up their children and gave detailed instructions on how to retrieve them. This is different. This is warfare in the 21st century, in a wired world, and in a country unafraid to demonstrate a new kind of courage—one that values trans- parency, emotional intelligence, and compassion. One that appeals to the hearts of mothers and parents on both sides, one that reveals the real cost of war. I am not putting anyone on a pedestal, as I am sure darkness is being unleashed in some Ukrainians, because this is war, and war is a pathetic, outdated, brutal lack of imagination. But in general, my heart is wide open to the people and the leadership in Ukraine. May they remain strong and may they continue to show the world what big-hearted, kind-spirited, full-spectrum courage looks like.