Three poems by RAW: "War," "Love," and "All is Nothing"

Includes audio track for "War"

Courtesy of/by ANYA

By RAW

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War

I sing the folk song
“Cherni Voron”
I sing it for the dead
For no one thinks of the dead
As they die
For the entertainment
Of the well fed.
Everyone thinks of the glory
The war brings.
Cherni Voron
Captures the last moments
Of a soldier’s
Life
Just before he is wedded
to Death:
Cherni
Voron
Ya
Ne
Tvoi

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Love

Love
is like a ripe fruit,
swollen
with juice,
ready to burst,
ready
to shed
its skin,
fall
and brake,
hit the ground
and rot.
aimed at
self destruction,
in order
to give
Life
to the
next generation.

---

All is Nothing

Sometimes,
to get nothing
You need to give it all.
You aim for nothing,
hoping to get everything in return.
I
aim for all,
in exchange
I get
nothing.
Nothing,
is
all
I get.
It’s almost fair,
the cold emptiness
nothing
gives you
is almost
fulfilling.
It leaves no
room
for nothing else.
I get my nothing after
a battle —
I get what I deserve.
After a fair loss
in a good faith.
For I finally am
satisfied
with
nothing,
as
I
give
all
my hopes
up.

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Editor’s note: Listen to a rendition of “Cherni Voron” on YouTube here.