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 -
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.