They huddled in their basements,
The cannons pounded away,
Through the day, through the night,
And when dusk gave way to day.

Thousands of people, families and friends,
Each loved by someone afar,
Sharing in the fear, and the anger,
Trapped in this dark world, evil, bizarre.

A city of poets and painters,
A city of industry,
Reduced now to rubble,
Once beautiful Mariupol on the sea.

Those outside don’t know their fate,
Many may never know,
Just a name, a face they knew,
They knew now long ago.

Long ago when the world was sane,
Just a few weeks by the clock,
But this new future oppresses so,
It seems to crush like some great rock.

It crushes and grinds, time drags on,
Before the war seems a lifetime,
What was, now fading memories,
Lives changed, without reason or rhyme.

It grinds us down as Putin’s army,
Did grind down Mariupol.
This siege has killed many a love,
Has battered down many a soul.

Pray for this once beautiful city,
Pray for every single soul,
Everyone who lost a love,
In the Siege of Mariupol.

Copyright 2022 Arrias
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