Why it Matters

Why it Matters

Poem by Iris Carden

There’s a post that’s going around
which purports to explain
why it really matters
to protect Ukraine.

Why Ukraine matters
according to the post
is all the rich resources,
the ore and grain and coal.

Ukraine really matters
for all it can provide.
So the shared post tells us,
but there’s another side.

Ukraine matters in the 
way all other nations do.
It’s a country made of people
the same as me and you.

Ask a mother in Kyiv
what matters most to her.
It’s keeping her family safe,
from the oncoming war.

While the tanks are rolling in
and death falls from the sky
we watch it on tv
and it matters to us, why?

It’s not about the coal,
uranium, cheese or grain,
it’s because deep down underneath
humans are all the same.

If we really do believe,
we deserve to live at peace,
we must believe that people there
deserve the same at least.

Human beings have value,
beyond all commodities.
You cannot put a price
on living safe and free.

While kids hide from missiles,
while families try to flee,
it’s people who need compassion,
not the economy.

Please consider donating to support the people affected by the war in Ukraine. Here is a link for the Act for Peace appeal, but there are many other organisations, including Unicef raising money right now.