Dmytro V. Afanasiev (Lymon)

Mother's tears Have you ever seen a mother sobbing? What words did he whisper at the same time? - Don't cry woman, bury the soldier, Whose soul has not yet departed. Your son is a hero, they shouted "Glory" to him. Your son — He defended the homeland. Under the whistling of bullets from someone else's machine gun, He only whispered your name. When his last strength was leaving, I saw your image in his eyes, I bent down, my lips spoke, "I'm sorry, my dear! My time has already come." He did not regret the fact that he was dying in battle. He did not cry, we have no tears. He remembered the old, slender poplars, And the path that led to the yard. And on a lonely mother is at the door, Her kind hands are on the ground, And thin lips secretly whispered: — The son will return, the end of the war. He will get married, give birth to a lot of children, He will build a house, happiness will live in it. There will be a smell of milk and bread, Instead, the smell of blood will disappear. But the thunder of the bell pulls out of the dream, And someone reports trouble. An old woman sits on the threshold and sobs, Wrings her hands and curses the war. Not tears, bunches fall from her cheeks, There is no place in the world to this soul. Where the Ukrainian mother cries, viburnum bushes sprout From the bloody ground. In the last moment, the soldier will remember his mother, Her soulful word and warmth, And the son's heart will tear in despair, For what brought pain to his mother

Eternal memory!