***
My head rolls from tree to tree
like tumbleweed
or a ball
my severed hands
will sprout in spring as violets
my legs
will be pulled apart by cats and dogs
my blood
will stain the world a new shade of red
Pantone Human Blood
my bones
will reach into the earth
forming a skeletal frame
my bullet-riddled rifle
will rust
poor thing
my spare clothes and kit
will go to the new recruits
if only spring would hurry up
so I can finally
bloom
as a violet.
Translated by Helena Kernan and Larissa Babij. First posted by the author on his Facebook page on January 5, 2024, republished on: https://www.voice-of-soldiers-heart.org.ua