Words to Russian Parents

Russian parents, do you know

Where your children are today?

Might they be on Ukrainian soil,

Many many miles away?

 

Might your kids be soldiers on

A Russian military squad,

Set out to kill Ukrainians

And bolster Putin's outrageous façade?

 

Might they be attacking civilians

And leaving their bodies strewn about,

While causing other atrocities

That we keep seeing day in, day out?

 

Perhaps they have been caught between

Following orders they know aren't right

Made by a dictatorial leader

Whose human compassion has taken flight

 

And knowing the truth and wondering

If that's who they were meant to be--

Conscripts used to fight a war

With nightmarish brutality.

 

When you watch your Putin-controlled

TV news, are you aware

That you are being lied to, and if

You do know that, do you care?

 

Can you feel the repercussions

Brought about by Putin's war?

Give it some thought. Do you have

Any inkling of what's in store?

 

If committing atrocities

Is the appropriate thing to do,

And if you're proud of your kids for doing that,

Shame on them and shame on you.

 

-by Bob B (4-4-22)