A Hymn for Ukraine
Prayers quiet fears,
Smoke turns to incense,
Shrapnel turns to flowers,
Braided into the crowns we wear,
Clearing the rubble together.
Shards are glued
Back, unified,
Prismatic glass pieces,
A plethora of colors,
Like the spools of thread
In mothers’ sewing baskets,
Made into windows
Through which glows the light.
The hearts, heavy now,
Will beat in unison, and lift
Each other up.
We might carry different flags behind us,
But what’s within, connecting us, is more
Than the emblems borne without.
These prayers we say now
Will open the doors,
Mend what we thought was broken,
Bringing dawn out of the dusk,
Standing as one,
Candles in hand,
Reflected in our shining eyes,
The song we sing,
Rising like the sun.
