In
Ukraine

In her
pocket
maybe
a piece
of string
and an
interesting
looking
pebble
maybe
a signed
school
permission
slip
to visit
the museum
What was
in her
body
now
were
hundreds
of pieces
of jagged
metal
One of
those
shards
she might
have liked
for its
odd
shape
and
maybe
without
the war
she might
have
picked
it up
and
put it
in her
other
pocket

.

.

Beau Beausoleil is a poet and activist (Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here) based in San Francisco, California. His most recent book of poetry is Another Way Home (Blue Light Press 2022).