Russian parents, do you know
Where your children are today?
Might they be on Ukrainian soil,
Many many miles away?

Might your kids be soldiers on
A Russian military squad,
Set out to **** Ukrainians
And bolster Putin's outrageous façade?

Might they be attacking civilians
And leaving their bodies strewn about,
While causing other atrocities
That we keep seeing day in, day out?

Perhaps they have been caught between
Following orders they know aren't right
Made by a dictatorial leader
Whose human compassion has taken flight

And knowing the truth and wondering
If that's who they were meant to be--
Conscripts used to fight a war
With nightmarish brutality.

When you watch your Putin-controlled
TV news, are you aware
That you are being lied to, and if
You do know that, do you care?

Can you feel the repercussions
Brought about by Putin's war?
Give it some thought. Do you have
Any inkling of what's in store?

If committing atrocities
Is the appropriate thing to do,
And if you're proud of your kids for doing that,
Shame on them and shame on you.

-by Bob B (4-4-22)