O:JA&L Poetry: All forms styles
Mykyta Ryzhykh
return
(based on news stories)
he thought that he was still at war– every morning trying to rescue grandmothers at bus stops
he asked to be tied up with ropes
he asked for an ambulance every day for no apparent reason
he asked for the day not to break so loudly
he thought about eternal return
he didn’t know what to do next
he drank and drank and drank and nothing changed
he thought he remembered how he had saved comrades in a minefield
he dreamed of Mercury
he dreamed of having a child
he dreamed that the creak of an old door was the sound of a enemy missile overhead
he thought he had forgotten how to dream
he didn’t know what to do next
he drank and drank and drank and nothing changed
he thought he remembered how he had finished off too many enemy wounded
he breathed like a dying man
he wanted to return to the battlefield
he changed his mind every hour
he thought he remembered the way home but he couldn’t be sure
he didn’t know what to do next
he drank and drank and drank and nothing changed
* * *
he fed the titmice on the balcony
he looked at his Facebook feed
he didn’t know what to do next
he drank and drank and drank and nothing changed
About the writer:
Mykyta Ryzhykhis, a Pushcart Prize nominee, is a frequently published poet and writer from Ukraine. His work appears in Tipton Poetry Journal, Stone Poetry Journal, Allegro Poetry Magazine, PLUM TREE TAVERN, Corvus Review, Triggerfish Critical Review, and Third Wednesday, among many others.
Image: Wounded Soldier by László Mednyánszky (1815-1919). Oil on canvas. 100 x 80 cm. 1916. Public domain.
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