Editor’s note: A recent zoom meeting of the Brussels Writers’ Circle was the occasion for a unique encounter with Vyacheslav Konoval, a Ukrainian poet living in Kyiv and whose work is focused on the most pressing issues of our time; the devastating war in his country that has provoked deep emotions around the world, has motivated him to write his poetry in English in the hope of reaching out beyond Ukraine’s borders to people everywhere. We are pleased to present here some of his most recent, emotion-laden poems, inspired by the events of the war, including the fall of Mariupol following the siege by Russian troops that started on February 24 and ended on May 20 with the heroic defense of the Azov regiment fighting in the tunnels of Azovstahl, a huge steelworks complex built in Soviet times in the periphery of the city – one of several tragic events in Ukraine reported here on Impakter.
History of Mariupol Heroes
Under the noise and tumult in the stadiums
the young boys cheered on the football
in yellow and blue flags, with painted faces
they conjured victory as if they were mediums
Active guys, there were also hooligans,
as soon as trouble came to the country,
gathered in the Donbas to fight,
then they were all civilians
In the steppe city of Berdyansk, near the Sea of Azov
the boys swore to defend Ukraine’s independence,
I dedicate the lines above
When in the stormy 2014,
the Russians whispered about separatism,
the warriors of Azov stubbornly showed true heroism,
recapturing the city from Russian totalitarianism
Eight years ago,
the boys created a special regiment,
which managed to stay under siege
Azov evokes respect and encouragement
Legions with Flags
In every flower corner of the world
long live the warriors of the sun,
with the power of truth, they lift the granite,
skilled soldiers, weapons are no fun
Conscience is pure in them,
anxiety and sadness in the soul,
lying down with a stone
on a thin tip of a plant stem
Brotherhood and friendship are the values of a legionnaire,
they are washed in blood in fierce cauldrons,
that their destiny sent there,
guard the truth of angels, wardens
And here, oh this steel power in Ukraine,
overcomes the invasion of nomadic scabies,
which spread to the South and East,
sent to defense, 500 defenseless babies
Legionnaires grind satanic cult,
who covered Europe with a black blanket,
killing Ukraine, the cult will take over the planet
Hot Trenches
June’s tiring heat is here,
thirst torments every minute,
in the summer, salty sweat felt,
squatting in trenches,
the battle doesn’t inspire
Russian generals chase soldiers,
they look and act like flocks,
soldiers wandering weakly across the field,
drowning in a massacre,
they are deeply in shock
The projectile pulls up the ground
from under strong Ukrainian feet,
the defender is bent down,
being machine gun sheltered,
military armada strikes with the summer heat
Editors Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: Mariupol Maternity Hospital bombed in March and reported as fake news by the Russians who denied bombing; it was subsequently confirmed as yet another Russian attack on civilians Featured Photo Credit: See Impakter article that documented the start of the war with daily updates until March 13 here.
