​Poems by Daryna Gladun 

​a war will not start tomorrow
 
in the name of all burial wreaths and plastic ribbons 
in the name of glossy coffins and glossy shoes of the dead uncomfortable unworn unfit to dance twist
/ this is to dance twist
/ this is dance twist
somehow I imagine the dead dancing twist
in their hands they hold their glossy shoes too tight for their swollen feet
we name streets gardens parks after them
we make monuments on central squares
now these are squares of monuments it is impossible even squeeze between them
during peacetime children will play hide and seek here but not straight away –
perhaps in two years in five years in forty years
of course in the case the square of monuments the square of memory will survive this war
 
in anticipation of approaching of the warfront from the north the warfront from the south or from the east
we rename and rename them
we install new signs on houses kindergartens and schools
at least for a moment to name what is indeed important to us
but we don’t have enough time
to change the names of all streets
to make monuments to everyone
to rename in honour of the dead what we put in a go-bag
a pocket torch is no longer a pocket torch but Kokurin Serhiy Viktorovych
a radio is no longer a radio but Andriyuk Yevhen Olexandrovych
a first aid kit is Gorbenko Svyatoslav Serhiyovich
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
we take the memory of our dead into evacuation with us
leaving books notebooks and photo albums of the Soviet times
at the mercy of shells and looters
 
/ who will dance twist
/ this will be dancing twist
/ this will be dancing twist
/ by the sound of all old records from grandma’s music collection
 

 
people under the bridge
 
one person builds and the other one destroys
two people build and the third one destroys
three people build and the fourth one destroys
four people build and the fifth one destroys
five people build and the sixth one destroys
six people build
seven people build
eight people
nine people
ten
eleven
twelve
thirteen
fourteen
////////////// people build
and one destroys
and one destroys // destroys
// destroys // destroys
// destroys this bridge
and already
twenty-sixth persons under the bridge
twenty-seven persons under the bridge
twenty-eight persons under the bridge
sand in the widow‘s mouth
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​Daryna Gladun (1993) is a Ukrainian writer, translator, performance artist and researcher from Bucha. Currently she is a fellow researcher of Potsdam University.
Daryna is the author of two poetry collections written and published in Ukrainian language. Her third book Radio ‘Wojna’ is going to be published from Biblioteka Śląska Publishing in Ukrainian and Polish translated by Janusz Radwański. In her art practices, she touches upon topics of ecology, soviet and post-soviet experiences.
Daryna Gladun has participated in international residences and literary projects in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, and Poland. Her poems have been translated into 22 world languages.

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