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Oct 1, 2023Liked by Stephanie Bachmair

I love how you've tracked and weaved our voices/words into a real and tender portrayal, of the group process and the emotional journey. Thank you, Steph and Penny, for facilitatong these creative and inspiring gatherings! 🙏💓

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Oct 21, 2023·edited Oct 21, 2023Author

Some weeks ago, we published this posaic article. This was before the horrific attacks in Israel and the threaten this escalation brings now especially to the Gaza and Israel region but also non locally into the world.

Today I feel like adding the poem "War is never far away" from Wojciech Młynarski. Thank you Anna Gabryjelska for sharing. This is 'free translated' to capture the content, the linguistic brilliance will for sure not be the original one.

My daughter's hand, trying to catch the ball,

Suddenly she squeezes anxiously,

The wounded and the dead on the screen

The daughter asks if there will be a war.

The sound amplifies the echo of gunshots,

The vision brings blood on the screen,

I say: "Daughter, it's so far..."

And I know I'm lying.

Like painful glass under the eyelid,

Injuring the sharp pupil -

War is never far away

War is always very close.

Close to the temples and close to the heart,

Close to the brain, close to the conscience

Close to the thoughts that drill through the brain:

Where is the council when there is no council?

Close to the maples on my street,

A square that may become a grave,

Close to fear and callousness,

And Niobe's complaints.

Like painful glass under the eyelid

Injuring the sharp pupil -

War is never far away

War is always very close.

While through my twilights and dawns

Bad news will run,

I am the mother of murdered children,

I am the sister of the fallen boys.

It has to be this way, I won't be any different

In a world that makes no sense

Between the power of bloody madness,

And the powerlessness of the pale peacemakers...

Like painful glass under the eyelid

Injuring the sharp pupil -

War is never far away

War is always very close.

- free translated from Polish -

Wojciech Młynarski "War is never far away"

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too painful to put a like. Needing to be heard, so many pains needing to be heard...

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That comment is from me, but seems that have your name on it. Just for the record

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