Writing a Poem About Ukraine

I dream I am
in the hall outside my classroom
in a huddled group of girls
holding a small white rabbit
struggling to breathe.
I cradle it in cupped hands
and see it has been torn by talons.
I feel the broken body stiffen.
“We’re losing him,” I say;
“Do you want to say goodbye?"
The girls are calm.
I can tell they expect no miracles.
One bends to kiss the little rabbit.
One whispers, “I’ll see you soon.”

One whispers, “I’ll see you soon.”
One bends to kiss the little rabbit.
I can tell they expect no miracles.
The girls are calm.
“Do you want to say goodbye?
We’re losing him,” I say.
I feel the broken body stiffen
and see it has been torn by talons.
I cradle it in cupped hands,
struggling to breathe,
holding a small white rabbit
in a huddled group of girls
in the hall outside my classroom.
I dream I am

writing a poem about Ukraine.

Joan Wiese Johannes’s third chapbook won the Alabama State Poetry Society's John and Miriam Morris Memorial Chapbook competition and her fourth was published by Finishing Line Press. She co-edited the 2012 Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar and the 2019 Winter issue of Bramble with her husband Jeffrey. She lives in Port Edwards, WI.