Today's poem is by Michael Magee

Holding on in Irpin
        (response to April 7 photo and article by Tim Judah)
                In NY Times Book Review

As I watch those people
crossing the wooden plank
in Irpin trying to escape
under the concrete bridge
catching their collective breath
egged on by soldiers to cross

The rushing river with plastic
bags and knapsacks, carrying
their food, being led like children
to cross the current, the disabled
the elderly, the lame, the weak
of heart as Russian drones
hone in to attack them as targets
I think what do I have to fear?

My neighborhood break-ins,
homeless camps, hot-wiring
the ignition, broken glass, but
really, no Kristallnacht to speak of
the piling up of trash and plastic
is nothing compared to continuous
shelling, missile barrages, intense
artillery all around them.

As they cross the wooden bridge
to escape while a soldier holds a
woman's hand above as though
they're dancing a minuet—
to be stopped at any moment by
a shell, a missile, a gunshot
to rip their fragile dance apart.

Copyright © 2025 Michael Magee All rights reserved
from Shiny Things
Moonpath Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission