You can see the stars
hundreds of millions of miles away,
the light of years past flashing each day,
yet you can’t see the bomb blasts
on the other side of this earth.

Thunder may take the time
to memorize the sound, and we will
hear it as spring rain changes from gentle
to worse, but will we know the pain
it has caused?

The dead bodies, civilians, knew the
sounds at close range, even by surprise.
For many, it was the last noise they heard.
Others heard the cries, perhaps
their own voice.

Mass media images and scenes
tell the heartbreaking atrocities of
the invasion of Ukraine. Far enough
that you don’t hear it, close enough
that you feel the pain.

If you think of the breathless bodies
as human beings, as people; mothers
or children, even soldiers, it hurts
a little more – today, tomorrow
and for years to come.

© 2022 j.g. lewis