Tag Archives: Ukraine

Withered Sunflowers

Smoke and flames frame the horizon;
Red blood runs cold, hope forsaking.
Distant gunshots are growing closer,
And the sinister skies are breaking.

Families torn, they flee the border,
Clutching withered sunflowers in hand.
A demented monster unleashes terror,
And destruction spills across the land.

The rain beats down upon my window
On this endless and forlorn day.
I crave your touch to soothe my soul,
For you are light and I am gray.

Mortar descends along with madness
As tears blur the television screen.
Dire horrors of war are omnipresent,
Like nothing that we have ever seen.

We are sinking deep in desperation,
A flood of fear pushing all hope aside.
Fighting strong waves of desolation
Humanity swims against time and tide.

The rain beats down upon my window
On this endless and forlorn day.
I crave your touch to soothe my soul,
For you are light and I am gray.

I reach for you, my hand outstretched.
In suspended animation, it lingers.
Your warmth ignites the fires within me,
White light scattering through my fingers.

Hold me tight against the raging storm,
As withered sunflowers come undone.
Clasp your weathered hands in mine,
Together we will pray for peace to come.

The rain beats down upon my window
On this endless and forlorn day.
I crave your touch to soothe my soul,
For you are light and I am gray.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
March 12, 2022

I wrote this poem two weeks ago and have not looked at it since. For some reason, I did not have the energy or the impetus to publish it. My heart is absolutely shattered to watch the heartless invasion of Ukraine…. to see families torn apart, men staying behind to fight, and for what?? No provocation, just the sick, demented desires of one depraved monster to rebuild a Soviet Union that can never be again!  It’s sheer insanity, and we all feel powerless to do anything but watch in horror.

Emotions rage at every turn,  seeing pictures of the beautiful countryside obliterated, the bombing of a maternity hospital, slaughtered children and citizens, mass graves… it’s all so terrifying to see scenes reminiscent of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany being replayed in real time!  It is hard to put into words how helpless, upsetting and grieved that we fellow Americans feel over these horrendous crimes. God help Ukraine, God help us all in this crumbling world!

Someday I will record a spoken word reading of this poem…but not now. I literally do not have the strength to do it without dissolving into tears.

xoxo Colleen