New Poetry from Shannon Huffman Polson: “On Orthodox Easter in Mariupol”

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BETWEEN THE CRACKS / image by Amalie Flynn

 

On Orthodox Easter in Mariupol

We finished our jelly beans
red and yellow, purple, green,
the last bite of chocolate, unaware

that over in Mariupol
on this most holy day
sleepless mothers cradle children
on a steel factory floor.

Christ is Risen!

But in Mariupol people lie crushed,
the crossbeam too heavy,
cold factory chimneys rising cruelly
against the grey sky.

Nobody steps in from the crowd
to carry the cross.
There is no crowd
but circled tanks

in Mariupol.

Where is the Risen Christ
in Mariupol?

Outside the factory
mud is drying, small flowers
pushing up
between the cracks,
the birds returning, unaware

that inside people wait
in darkness,
the factory made for steel,
not people—
they sit
in vigil,
waiting.

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Shannon Huffman Polson

Shannon Huffman Polson writes about women, war and the natural world. Her books include North of Hope: A Daughter’s Arctic Journey and The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male Dominated Organization in the World, and her essays have appeared in journals including Riverteeth, The Utne Reader and Ruminate among others, and she has written extensively for business publications. Polson’s poetry has been featured in Emerge Journal and is forthcoming in War, Literature and the Arts. Her first short fiction is included in The Road Ahead, a Veteran’s Anthology. Polson lives in Washington State with her husband and two boys.

2 Comments
  1. Stunning poem! It reminds me of Easter 2002, which I spent in Oman while deployed for OEF. Our chapel service on Maundy Thursday was drowned out by the sounds of B-1 bomber afterburners as they launched for Afghanistan.

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