Thursday, February 24, 2022

"What Do Sheep Talk About?" by Irina Yevsa

Site of shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022 / Photo by Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy (Reuters)
 

Today, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. There have been reports of explosions in Kharkiv, the largest city in the northeast. Kharkiv is the home of Irina Yevsa, the author of this 2017 poem. 

As a veteran and advocate for peace, my heart goes out to the people of Ukraine and to the soldiers on both sides who will suffer and even die in this war.

Who runs the slaughterhouse? (We know the answer, of course.)


*     *     *

What do sheep talk about,

mindless amid the rabble,

as they head to the slaughter?

 

To the left and right of them,

a detail of stern sheepdogs

keeps order in the ranks.

 

On the front line, the rams

bleat triumphantly, “Glory

to those who provide food!”

 

A mad chorus of voices

responds, “Slice up the traitors!

Enemies—into the pot!”

 

Above, the vault of heaven.

Behind, the landscape of home.

Ahead, the slaughterhouse gates.

 

The bravest march straight in,

while others get a horn

in the flank. As everyone

 

is knocked about, some shout,

“Man the battering ram!”

But the last of them soils

 

the grass and strains his throat

as he lets out an awful

shriek, “I’m a veteran!”


Translated by Jamie Olson

Printfriendly