My friend, Maria Kirichenko, is an artist Her paintings are so real I love the way she captures the light That falls on the side of a house In the woods by the fields There's a brilliance there There's life in those paintings She draws people too Some smiling, some serious She lives in Ukraine She shares pictures of the war Her country under siege I worry I worry about her, her art, her life I worry about the life, lives around her I message her to stay safe for that's all that I can do I, like many others, am a silent witness I do not want to know the nitty-gritty Of what is politically right Or left or centre Politics of war are men's creation My thoughts are from the human angle All I care for is that my friend is happy and safe I want the attacks to stop. Childish me. Or are these just the normal thoughts of a woman? Women go to war only if attacked. Not for material needs. Not out of greed. Not for power. Never out of ambition. Maybe countries should be run by women There would be less aggression And as my thoughts go round in circles I think of Maria Kirichenko I think of her beautiful paintings I think of the once pristine land of Ukraine And hope that light dawns with the coming year In the minds of men
Vineetha Mekkoth is a poet, writer, translator, editor and reviewer. She has translated for the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and has also contributed articles for the Malayalam Literary Survey, a quarterly brought out by the Akademi. Her poems and short stories have been included in various anthologies.
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