In the air-raid shelter

 

By Andriy Kostynskyi
Translation by Will Firth

 

IN THE AIR-RAID SHELTER

Mummy, mummy…
Am I kicking too hard?
Will they hear us?
Of course not, my baby,
We’re deep down.
Deep underground.

Mummy, are we dead?
It’s so dark. Do you think so too?
Not at all.
There are lots of people here.
There’s even light,
a faint one,
like if you look
at the sun
through an ice-frosted moon.

Mummy…
I dreamed there was a war.
I’m frightened.
What if it’s not a dream?
Whatever next!
When you’re born
you’ll see
how beautiful this world is,
where everyone smiles at each other,
and there are no guns roaring, no wars.
Was it all a dream, then?
Stop your chatter. Sleep.
Just you go on and kick.