Exploring Contrasting Views
War Games
Russian claims and Ukrainian rebuttals in free verse
Snake Island, February 24, 2022
“This is the Russian military warship Moskva. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”
vs
“Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
Black Sea, April 14, 2022
A fire on board Moskva detonated ammunition causing serious damage to the vessel and forcing crew to abandon ship. It lost its balance and sank in choppy waters while being towed to port for repairs.
vs
Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said it hit the Moskva with two Neptune anti-ship missiles that caused significant damage and the ship began to sink.
Snake Island, June 30, 2022
“As a gesture of goodwill, the Russian military completed their tasks on Snake Island and withdrew the garrison stationed there.”
vs
“During the night, as a result of a successful military operation with our missile and artillery units on Snake Island, the Russian enemy hastily evacuated the remnants of the garrison in two speedboats and left the island.”
July 2, 2022
“Russia is not blocking the export of grain from Ukrainian ports. We have nothing to do with the worsening of the grain crisis. Active efforts are currently under way to solve the problem.”
vs
“Honestly, after eight years of war with Russia, Ukrainians have no trust in Russians.”
We’ll take what’s ours ….over our dead bodies
I’ve constructed this free verse poem using quotes and paraphrased text from assorted news reports. I’m not sure that it qualifies as a found poem — what do you think, Amanda Laughtland?
I haven’t written about the Ukraine-Russia war for several weeks — it’s high time I did. All my other poems have been pro-Ukraine; this one attempts to present both sides. Apologies if I failed to be completely neutral.
Here’s a list of the #StandForUkraine poems I’ve written —
#StandWithUkraine
My poetry in support of Ukraine and the war against Russia
carolynhaasp.medium.com
I’ve prepared this poem for Paper Poetry’s Week 19 prompt: contrasting views.
I’m hoping I can tempt my fellow poets to join the prompt — what do you say, Mark Tulin | Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar | Theodore McDowell | Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) | Erika Burkhalter ?? 🙏 ✨
You’ll find the prompt details here —
Thank you all for reading. 🙏 💕
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