This morning, I was invited by Kent State University, in the USA, to submit to a global poem —in English, Russian or Ukrainian— to address the humanitarian crisis, currently, unfolding in Ukraine.
Basically, one is offered a short writing prompt and participants are invited
to contribute a line (in English, Ukrainian, or Russian).
This community poem is inspired by poet Julia Kolchinksy Dasbach’s composition. Dasbach emigrated from Dnipro, Ukraine as a Jewish refugee in 1993 (when she was six years old and grew up in a Russian-speaking household).
Here’s a brief excerpt, below, of her work:
Dear Ukraine,
I want your sunflowers to rise
across the water, fields and fields
ablaze. They’ll burn anyone
who dares to cut them down.
If poetry is not your thing, but you still want to help, you can make a donation to Kent State University’s Ukrainian Scholar Support Fund or their special UNICEF campaign.
