by Julia Bair
Ukrainian word for bread: хліб [khlib]
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friends say: you will write about completely other things now the war blanks flowers and butterflies it blanks the old books and new plays blanks the birds blanks men it blanks hunger hungry people share their last crumbs with birds becoming the birds themselves disgusted to share their bread and life with occupiers and fall into the ground as crumbs instead of the grain to sprout over the “i” in every staff of life as the ultimate dot
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Author’s note: Russians have no letter “i” in their alphabet.
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Julia Bair is a Ukrainian poet, essayist and cultural critic writing on various topics, especially literature, fine art, cinema, and theater. Born and bred in a small town close to the Subcarpathian foothills and educated in the big city of Lviv at Ivan Franko National University, Julia travelled across Europe and lived in the USA for some years.