In our third installment of this weekly column, we continue to highlight works from writers around the globe responding to the war in Ukraine. In this poem, Jonathan Chan, in a series of haunting stanzas, expresses the desperate but unflagging faith of a people resisting invasion of their homes.
invasion
“The town watches.”
—Ilya Kaminsky
i speak not of civility
ambassadors in their pretty suits in
pretty chairs, faces walled by panels
of glass, spittle for war criminals who
will bypass purgatory, chilled before a
passive, bloodless face.
i speak not of civility
another tranche, another round of
sanctions announced on virtual
squares, rough-worn faith that
this will make them listen, this must
make them listen,
i speak not of civility
the instincts of past clicks, strategic
shares, swipe, image, swipe, clip,
swipe, image, swipe, prayer, swipe,
share, sudden rush of yellow and
blue, billowing, billowing,
i speak not of civility
all these groups suddenly dropped
on their knees, candlelight vigil
at 8 pm on zoom, learning again
the violence of intercession, a
century’s ghost moaning please,
Lord, please