they are closing shevchenko’s eyes (so he does not have to see)

shevchenko
was a poet
you know

he wrote his verse
in ukrainian

over there
they named streets
and squares
and universities
in his honour

built statues

a poet

kharkiv’s monument
is sixteen metres
tall

and –
in that place

in that
city centre –
he has the extra honour
of a crane

lifting sandbags

surrounding
and engulfing
his rather stern
visage

covering his eyes
to protect him
from what
a poet
should not
have to see

hundreds
upon hundreds
of sandbags

~

the shelling
has been going on
all
through the night

and the morning

the air
is toxic
from fire

~

Assed Baig, Al Jazeera Live Blog.