*Poetry from this week’s New Yorker, good and great and powerful enough to share.
only women testify in this strange town
one speaks of a missing child
two speak of the tortured in the basement
three repeat what rapes and avert their eyes
four speak of the screams from the military headquarters
five speak of the executed in their own yards
six speak but are incomprehensible
even check food supplies counting out loud
right call me a liar because there is no justice
nine talk on their way to the cemetery
I’m on my way because I know them all
in this town
it dead are my dead
its survivors are my sisters
ten speak of a survivor, a man
he’s returned from captivity
he could testify
I knock his door, a neighbor
opens.
“It seems like he has survived, all right,”
she says,
Go talk to the women.”
~ Victoria Amelina (1986-2023)
You can read about Victoria Amelia’s too short and remarkable life on her wiki page, linked here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Amelina
May she rest in power, and peace.
