Babushka Z - The Brave One Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

She was true to herself and to her sentiments,
nobody could take away the patriotism from her;
it may be either pale or blue over the years
it might be either gallant or glue over the tears
but she stood up for her loyalism;
with the flag of her nativity in her hands
she demonstrated her dignity
she invoked justice before humanity.
She is not a traitor nor a betrayer
she is just an old peasant woman,
eating her daily bread
praying for peace,
hoping a war that is going on will end soon
so that life begins afresh beneath the moon.
She held no fear within her feet
but she held dismay within her heart;
that as they passed by her house
and gave her food in a bag,
they knew she was more tough
than how tough times were with her;
and though age and war had plummeted her dreams,
she was still lucky to be alive;
she was even brave to confront the soldier
and refuse the trade-in of her patriotic endeavor
for a bag of food;
and though she knew she was neither safe or certain
if she will live to see tomorrow's daylight,
she dared to have back her flag of endurance
asking - why she deserved this war and this devastation
when she is just a peasant woman
who lived happily with her parents
once upon a time in Ukraine
when it was a part of the soviet union
and now it was ruthless haven
yet she respected her native land
and expected respect for her old sentiment;
O' the brave Babushka Z!