by Vyacheslav Konoval

A snowflake pinches the cheek,
the frost bites jokingly,
the fog is sliding on the ice.
 
As thunder tears apart, a rocket supply,
the heart in pain, strangulation of the throat,
oh, that black fog covered the country.
 
There are thousands, tens of thousands of them.
Maybe hundreds of thousands
of worldly souls that flew to heaven,
from the sooty piles of smoke from the huts of towns and villages.
 
God, why such a punishment?

Vyacheslav Konoval is a Ukrainian poet whose work is devoted to the most pressing social problems of our time, such as poverty, ecology, relations between the people and the government, and war.

His poems have appeared in many magazines, including Anarchy Anthology Archive, International Poetry Anthology, Literary Waves Publishing, Sparks of Caliope, Reach of the Song 2022, Diogenes for Culture Journal, Scars of my heart from the war, Poetry for Ukraine, Rhyming, La page Blanche, Norwich University research center, Impakter, Military Review, The Lit, Allegro, Innisfree poetry journal, Atunes Galaxy Poetry, Ekscentrika, Mere Inkling, EgoPhobia, Fulcrum, Omnibus, Adirondack Center for Writing, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Revista Literaria Taller Igitur, Tarot Poetry Journal, Tiny Seed Literature Journal, Best American Poetry Blog, Quilled Ink Review, Chronograph Poetry Journal, the Appalachian Journal Dark Horse.

Vyacheslav’s poems were translated into Spanish, French, Scottish, and Polish languages. His poems also have been read at meetings of various poetry groups, including Newman Poetry Group, Never Talk Innocence, Voicing Art Poetry Reading for Ukraine, Worcester County Poetry, Brussels Writer’s Circle, and Poets Anonymous May Middle-Met, Brett Show by Andrea, the Manx Bard group, and Allingham Art Festival. He is a member of the Geer Poetry Group (Wales) and a member of the Federation of Scottish Writers.