Flight to Safety
I do not know this woman,
Or really all that much about her.
An elderly relative of a loved one of a friend.
I know a name, an age, a city.
Yet for fourteen days
I have chanted these words:
Keep Nataliia safe.
Five days ago
A plan fell through
Grid-locked to Moldova
And back
To her little apartment
In Odessa.
Keep Nataliia safe.
Three days ago,
She crossed into Romania,
Leaving behind the sunflowers.
More plans made, but
So much farther to go.
Keep Nataliia safe.
Three hours ago,
I watched
The little green plane
On my screen,
Approaching
Toronto, Ontario.
Wheels down at YYZ:
Nataliia is safe.
Day 9 of the March SOLSC 2022
This post was created as part of Two Writing Teachers’ Slice of Life Challenge.
You can view other writers’ contributions via the comments here.
Wow! So glad she’s safe. So glad you shared this. It gives me hope.
Thank you. I sat down to write, and that was all that was in my head and my heart.
Nataliia is safe! What a moving poem, Karen. Thank you for sharing this story.
Thank you so much, Heather.
Oh, my heart!