Poetry for Ukraine ~ “War Can Turn to Peace”

“War Can Turn to Peace”

War
Ugly, Inhumane
Hating, Destroying, Dying
Explosions, Fear…Silence, Hope
Loving, Creating, Living
Beautiful, Compassionate
Peace

-Alicia Woodward

Like most Americans, I’m frightened and saddened by the inhumanity of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In my effort to find something positive I can do to to help, I’m writing poetry in support of the brave people of Ukraine which I will share on Wednesdays in my Just Between Friends post.

The form of poetry I’ve written this week is called a diamanté. It’s made up of just 16 words in seven unrhymed lines which form a diamond shape. Diamanté is the Italian word for diamond. The first and last lines are nouns, usually of opposite meaning. The rest of the lines are made up of nouns and adjectives related to the beginning and ending words. (I chose to divide my poem with ellipses.)

This relatively new form of poetry was created in 1969 by American poet Iris McClellan Tiedt. Studying and writing this simple form of poetry was always a favorite of my middle school literature students. 

Writing poetry is, if nothing else, an elegant way to process and express our feelings. It won’t end a war, but it might offer a little comfort. If you’d like to try your hand at a diamanté poem, here’s the format:

Noun
Adjective, Adjective (related to first word)
Verb, Verb, Verb (related to first word)
Noun, Noun (related to first word)… Noun, Noun (related to last word)
Verb, Verb, Verb (related to last word)
Adjective, Adjective (related to last word)
Noun

Please read my previous poem for Ukraine ~ The Strength of Snowdrops at https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/02

“No one in the world will forgive you (Vladimir Putin) for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.”
~Volodymyr Zelenskyy