BIRD OF UKRAINE

How can I build my nest when soldiers
are attacking my trees? Their march
shakes the ground till leaves are falling off.

They break the branches with weapons
and damage the roots with their bombs.
The cities are in ruins. There’s no crumbs

under the tables, no water in fountains.
I’m singing songs of peace to lull
frightened children. I want to escape,

but the evil will follow, until there’s no
land left with yellow fields and blue sky.

.

.

Agnieszka Filipek is a Polish–born poet living in Ireland. Her work has been published worldwide. Her poems have appeared in Amsterdam Quarterly, SAND Journal, Tilted House Review, Capsule Stories, Local Wonders Anthology, Lucent Dreaming, Black Bough Poetry, Crannóg, The Blue Nib, Chrysanthemum, Writing Home: The ‘New Irish’ Poets Anthology, Marble Poetry Magazine, Balloons Literary Journal, and elsewhere. Visit https://www.facebook.com/polmnieapoltobie