Cultural Treasures, Burning

“The Ivankiv museum featured a remarkable exhibition of paintings by Maria Prymachenko, a celebrated artist born in the region. On the 25th of February 2022, the museum was destroyed by a fire caused by Russian bombardment. A number of the artist’s works were saved by a local man who entered the museum whilst it was on fire.”

                  —Savethespot.org

Across the road     fire rages --

missiles unleashed     thrum of invading helicopters

lone bridge separates     invaders from defenders


burst of bombs     fire department not responding

tin roof crashing     my wife’s voice cracking    

charging up stairs     breaths heaving fingers touching


in these moments words are few

in these moments we know what to do –


museum door burning     prying protective iron bars

windows breaking     neighbors racing 

three of us clamber inside      missile strikes ring outside


even in smoky dark I know where to go    

this museum is my second home


we carry out what we can     dodging falling bits    

blazing wood and plastic     gulping air outside

stacking paintings     saved from ashes 

Ksenia Rychtycka is a first-generation Ukrainian American poet and fiction writer. Her poetry chapbook, A Sky Full of Wings, won the Eric Hoffer Book Award in the chapbook category and a da Vinci Eye award for cover design. Her collection of short stories, Crossing the Border, was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Ksenia’s work has appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, most recently in The Literary Bohemian, Wordpeace, Ukrainian American Poets Respond and Fusion Magazine. She worked as an editor in Ukraine during the early years of the post-Soviet era and has backpacked through twelve countries in Europe.