This short story is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
WAR GAMES
will sanctions do the trick
or are the rumours true, d’you think?
is Putin possibly now too sick
with a mind that clearly seems displaced
and a moral compass quite disgraced
there he sits in isolation
and claims to run the Russian nation
from an empty palace room
with meetings that are held on Zoom
he plays roulette with youthful lives
(who cares if they have kids or wives)
Vlad's crazy endgame is to win
never mind that it's a sin
that lives are lost
that there will be a heavy cost
that day by day the stakes are raised
yet he’s impassive, quite unfazed
but beyond his bunker and Russia’s border
there’s outrage at such senseless slaughter
as well as widespread admiration
for the Ukrainian people’s determination
to stay the course, and fight for freedom
to keep their optimism and remain unbowed
even though their future probably lies
beneath a blue and yellow shroud
Anne Layton-Bennett is a writer based in Tasmania.
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