Reviews from

Ukraine

A fight for freedom

67 total reviews 
Comment from SimianSavant
Excellent
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Hi Paul, I just spotted one error:

What will become of this beleaguered nation <=
this line has 11 syllables rather than the required 10. I hope you see and fix it in time to be considered for the contest prizes.

Excellent and timely writing piece. The individual EU member states are sending tiny bits of help here and there, a few hundred million bucks, but tens of billions of hardware are needed to stop the advance.

Best,


 Comment Written 02-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 03-Mar-2022
    Thanks for the review. Two lines later, I also have eleven syllables. This matches up with the line that you mentioned. I know this is a slight deviation, but I could not get around it with what I wanted to say.
Comment from Barry Penfold
Excellent
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Well thought out rhyming poem. A compelling and tragic subject and good supporting imagery. I know we all hope that freedom will be there when comes the dawn. Excellent . Keep well.

 Comment Written 02-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Barry. It doesn't look too good right now. They need more than prayers and armament.
reply by Barry Penfold on 02-Mar-2022
    Paul, It is a totally tragic situation. The only sort of good thing ,is that the whole world can now see what Putin is like and his true intentions are out there. Anyway, could rave on for hours. Take Care and keep writing.
Comment from Boogienights
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This is a wonderful sonnet, well written and very touching at it's core. I think the world is on the side of right and as in the past, good will vanquish evil...but at the cost of how many lives? It's so sad. Thanks for sharing. :)

 Comment Written 02-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks for the review. Many of those lives are young misguided Russian soldiers.
Comment from Irish Rain
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Oh, so beautiful Mr. Paul.
I say 'take Putin out!'...though I know
he's hiding in bunkers and can't be reached.
We are held hostage as we watch the
slaughter, I feel so bad about it all.
You've written a lovely sonnet, I hope you
win!
Blessings...

 Comment Written 02-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Irish. This tragedy is on my mind 24/7.
reply by Irish Rain on 02-Mar-2022
    I know, it's the worlds tragedy. We are held hostage by Putin's craziness.
Comment from jake cosmos aller
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I like how you used the traditional sonnet form to express thoughts about the war in Ukraine nicely done love the last stanza

What will become of this beleaguered nation
While in this game of chess, it is a pawn?
Will tyranny enjoy its consummation,
Or freedom still be there when comes the dawn?

Will peace, this winter, best the cunning foe,
Or will there just be crimson in the snow?

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Jake. This situation doesn't look too good right now. We need to get off our ass and do something.
Comment from anjetta williams
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Your thoughtfulness of the Ukrainians is relayed perfectly. Not only is it a caring poem it is a call to action as well. You are calling on the readers to pray for them. I love your last sentence talking about the snow turning red. That was a powerful poem.

Anjie

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Anjie. Prayers are going to help, but action needs to be taken.
Comment from John Ciarmello
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Beautifully said, Paul. Most of us can only imagine the pain of separation from our families and the destruction of the land you have adored all your life. I believe the shock and awe here did not come from the Russians on the Ukrainians, rather vice versa.

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, John. As sad as it is, this is something that everybody in this country can agree on.
Comment from Frank Malley
Excellent
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"Ukraine" is a sonnet based upon the current dire circumstances in the nation that supplies the poem's name. This poem's images are the staples of that poetry that bespeaks the ruin left by war; images of might, fear, oppression, hordes, of a game of political chess. The poem is skillful, but I think it would be more compelling if it included particularities of events: a named infant killed while sheltering in a basement, a church blasted to its fundaments, a town park serving as a temporary burial site.

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Frank. The fourteen line limit didn't allow me to get into too many details. Maybe next time.
reply by Frank Malley on 02-Mar-2022
    Yes indeed, limits tend to box things. But compared to a haiku, a sonnet is like the Great Plains.
reply by the author on 03-Mar-2022
    That's a good one, Frank.
reply by Frank Malley on 03-Mar-2022
    Words, words, words. Yeah. Sometimes a glory, sometimes a curse.
Comment from pome lover
Excellent
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This is very good and true except the male citizens are out fighting, not waiting behind closed doors. It is so sad for them; such a horrendous, unprovoked attack on a peaceful country.
Also sad and maddening is what our own crazy "leader" has done to America, a once strong, trusted, oil-independent country with a booming economy, now buying oil from Russia! Illegals, by the thousands, crossing our borders, and our President doesn't give a fig about that, or that some of his own people are having a hard time feeding their families with everything being so expensive. Anyway,
Congratulations on All Time Best and for being recognized. Good job.
Katharine

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 02-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Katharine. You are right about the men. At the time I wrote this, I didn't realize that ordinary citizens were taking up arms.
Comment from Sally Law
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Volodymyr Zelensky is not afraid. He is the most courageous man and leader of a country I have ever seen in modern history. Oh that we had such a leader here in the United States. He needs help, yes, and many are afraid in his country and I don't blame them. Nuclear weapons in the hands of a madman like Putin should have had us concerned long before now. The snow is crimson, unfortunately, and Kiev blown apart. Many civilians are still fleeing on foot at this moment. Today, the EU has responded very quickly with support to the Ukraine. Russia has sent in more troops and has increased the bombing.

I agree with your plea and prayers. It's far from being over. Thank you for sharing. God bless you and keep you,
Sally :))

 Comment Written 01-Mar-2022


reply by the author on 01-Mar-2022
    Thanks, Sally. If we or NATO don't do anything more than what we are doing now, there is going to be a bad ending to this problem.
reply by Sally Law on 02-Mar-2022
    I agree wholeheartedly. The United States will enter the war when it touches the pocketbook or the upcoming election, unfortunately. Blessings,
    Sal :))