Cover Image for A Soldier Is Born

A Soldier Is Born

Yuliya Musakovska, trans. by Olena Jennings
Special Issue 3 (August 2023)

This poetic record of a person’s transformation into a soldier comes from Yulia Musakovska’s collection The God of Freedom (2021). According to the translator Olena Jennings, it contains the idea of ‘poetry transcending the physical’ and exemplifies Musakovska’s unique way of writing about the body.

 

Bullets of rain hit the roof,
punch me in the gut:
what are you dreaming of,
poet of the warm home front?
The storm is wailing for them,
mourning them,
quietly
life went out
as if a feather has drifted away

Fingers break bread,
put an enemy through the wringer
Lying down, he awaits
the coming that will never be

Memorial candles
lined up along the road again
Black ribbons like leeches feed off flags

A rosary of beans picked by grandma,
his father’s warm socks made of scratchy wool
With all of this,
with his body,
he will knead the new clay,
With his mouth,
he will scoop water from a broken boat

Who are you,
the one with a glance
that hurts more than an iron rod,
a newborn
or confined to a uniform
An inconspicuous
metal toy figurine
fell off the table,
pierced a hole in the earth’s crust

 

[Read in Ukrainian here].

 

Image: Jason Leung, Toy Soldiers. Unsplash.


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Cover Image for Wartime Childhood

Wartime Childhood

Issue 4 (June 2025)

This issue explores the topic of wartime childhood. Through reportage, conversations, history, and art, it highlights the experiences of young people growing up in Ukraine today, and of the adults responsible for protecting these children from Russia’s genocidal policy. This unflinching look at the Ukrainian present poses urgent questions about our shared future.

Sasha Dovzhyk
Cover Image for ‘To fight for every child’: Advisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights Daria Herasymchuk in Conversation

‘To fight for every child’: Advisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights Daria Herasymchuk in Conversation

Issue 4 (June 2025)

Daria Herasymchuk provides a comprehensive and sobering account of what Russia’s invasion is doing to children. Demonstrating resolve and resilience, she describes Ukraine’s efforts to ensure the safety of children at home and worldwide.

Svitlana Osipchuk, trans. by Daisy Gibbons