Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Photo: AP/PTI
Source of all we hope or dread
Sheepdog, jackal, rattler, swan
We hunt your face and long to trust
That your hid mouth will say again: “Let there be light”
A clear new day
But when we thirst in this dry night
We drink from hot wells poisoned with the blood of children
And when we strain to hear a steady homing bee
Our ears are baulked by stifled moans
And howls of desolation
From the throats of sisters, brother, wild men
Clawing at the gates for bread
Even our own feeble hands
Aim to seize the crown you wear
And work our private havoc through
The known and unknown lands of space
Absolute in flame beyond us
Seed and source of Dark and Day
Maker whom we beg to be
Our mother, father, comrade, mate
‘Til our few atoms blow to dust
Or form again in wiser lives
Or find your face and hear our name
In your calm voice the end of night
If dark may end
Wellspring gold of dark and day
Be here
Be now
— Words by Reynolds Price, as interpreted by James Taylor.