The city must be pretty

on the coast of the Sea of Azov

with Kalmius River running through

No more chance for me to see it

Now only rubbles left

Sieged by the enemies

nonstop bombarding

day and night

A few weeks of time

has turned it into a ghost town

Only roars of bombs heard

Corpses scattered around

like charnel ground

Bustled with half million people before

a hundred thousand still left

No food, water nor electricity

No help from outside can reach

If lucky enough

one might be able to fumble

a cabbage or a carrot under ruins

to extend life a day or two

Stray canines bite corpses on streets

Starved people consume dead dogs to survive

Civilization fast reverted back

with scene of a living hell

Yet those alive refused

the invaders’ ultimatum to surrender

continue to fight with their lives

Still they helped the last two

foreign news reporters

to achieve a narrow escape

as enemies were after their lives

to stop their reporting of bare brutality

The city is sinking deeper into darkness

in going through its hellish torment

By Shih-Fang Wang

From: United States