Oseh Shalom: For Ukraine

My grandparents fled

the Pale of Settlement, that past world

ruled by an Imperial Czar –

that alt velt, but I do not speak Russian

nor read Cyrillic script. My grandparents

spoke Yiddish on muddy streets

and in their home, their first language

inherited it’s alphabet

from ancient Hebrew, mingled words

and accents from many places,

where they were once welcome.

Today, the world hears Ukrainian voices,

resistance shouted at Russian tanks,

women and children huddled in subways,

men praying with Molotov cocktails.

In houses of worship, my grandparents

chanted a holy tongue – Hebrew

words of patriarchs and prophets,

cantillations for peace –

oseh shalom bimromav.

Let us pray – may bombs cease,

blessings fall upon Ukraine

from places on high, words to inspire

freedom and light in any language –

Bozhe, voli i svitu prominniam.*

* “Dear G-d, bless her with freedom and light.” From “Prayer for Ukraine” (1885), by Oleksandr Konysky, which inspired this poem.

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