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      December 25, 2022The Ukrainian Flag Stares through the Balsam Fir from Larry’s TreesJulia Kolchinsky Dasbach

      just take it he said & I doubted
      generosity are you sure? still $30 short
      I’ve learned nothing is free
      in this country his
      white mustache curled
      to a smile I’m Larry & this
      is the south & these are my trees
      how easy to claim what soil gives
      to own trees & bodies
      to give them away to strangers
      so my children can hang
      the shatterproof ornaments & ask for more
      light while in Ukraine
      the bulbs won’t spark the heat
      won’t radiate the soil will stay
      snow-covered & theirs &
      in my house strings & strings
      of electric rainbow dazzle
      trail the evergreen & walls & wind
      my children’s small limbs
      here in Arkansas it’s barely cold
      enough to light a fire
      but we can & do with oak
      & crabapple we home
      its added glow so everything
      smells of invited smoke & pine
      not invaded smoking sky where
      the windows flicker with candlelight
      & shellings & tomorrow
      I will bake gingerbread & fry
      latkes & light the candles
      forbidden in my Soviet childhood
      tomorrow I will pray
      to a god I don’t believe in
      for more miracle tomorrow
      I will still have been born
      from darkness & wick & tonight
      when I lift my daughter
      to place the silver star on the highest branch
      & my American mother-
      in-law takes a photo
      the only light will be the yellow-
      blue horizon of the flag
      frozen in the window behind us

      from Poets Respond

      Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach

      “The missiles continue to fall on Ukraine. Millions lose power and heat and even water. It is well below freezing all across the country. On Christmas Eve, when many families in the US and around the world gather around a tree decorated by hundreds of lights, in my birthplace, Ukraine, this day will mark ten months of brutal, full-scale war. It is too easy to grow used to the barrage of terrible news, too easy to forget that during this time of celebration, suffering continues. If you are able, consider contributing to an aid organization that helps those who are in Ukraine and refugees trying to flee. I recommend Ukraine TrustChain, an all volunteer-run nonprofit started by Ukrainian immigrants in the US, they work with local volunteers on the ground, going directly into areas hard to reach by larger international organizations. TrustChain provides urgent food, medical supplies, and transportation to safer regions.”