PRAISESONG

Breslin, a humanitarian aid worker, presents a poetry collection that offers a moving portrait of the ongoing tragedy of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This set of poems follows aid workers delivering food on the front lines of Ukraine during the ongoing Russian incursion. Breslin, who directed a nationwide food accessibility project there, attempts to fill the gaps of what has been taken away by this conflict. The theme of things missing or lost—a destroyed building, an impassable road—establishes that unique creations are not replaceable, and these losses often coincide with terrible losses of human life. His works often focus on destruction, employing images of people cut off from others as they live “in dispirited houses with open lesions / along gutted roads desperately clinging to frail bridges / barely connected to the rest of Ukraine” (“Every Spark Is Gathered”). The poet also effectively zeroes in on the human cost of war at a time when endless news coverage of devastation and ruin can numb those who observe it from far away. The longer works, especially, such as “Thanksgiving in Kyiv” (“A day in Ukraine’s capital / flooded in tears / ringing in shock”), offer in-depth documentation of the suffering in a war-torn country. The Thanksgiving poem, for instance, shows how helpers from across the globe have set a “table that smells of welcome / amidst the sorrow / and the stench / calling out to counter the horror / with love,” and begin the process of healing from unimaginable grief. Overall, the collection is a taxing read, but it offers a sense of understanding that makes small moments of human care and connection all the more powerful. It also depicts how resilient humans can be when others lend a hand.

A set of works that finds light amid the darkness of war.