A sinister air permeates...

Mass protests against Russian invasion of Ukraine in France and Spain, 2022

A sinister air permeates the

clear blue Mediterranean sky

In the great East, birds drop dead,

sirens wail, and the sunflower children

cries themselves to sleep while their

folks sing them a haunting lullaby blues

Nervous energy swarms our atmosphere

Sacha pacing back and forth back and

forth back and forth. She's been collecting

calls from relatives and friends hiding

underground, collecting morphine and

hemostats to donate to dying soldiers

all these to keep her anxious mind pre-

occupied because what is there to do,

what is there to do when you're away

from your motherland? What is there to

do when you're watching your home crumble

to pieces and your city burn to ashes?