'The pig is warming himself,' 'Returning from the war...,' and 'damp forest'
The pig is warming himself
Вy the stove as if he will never
Вe baked for
Christmas
Returning from the war, the saboteur repeats the error of approach and repeats the error of return
The saboteur, returning from the war, still believes that he is at home and that the sky is above his head
Snipers in the bushes of other people's eyelashes
A premature engagement ring on a severed finger of a severed hand
And everywhere there are faces faces faces
damp forest
like a butterfly
the heat comes
out of a pistol clip
Mykyta Ryzhykh is an author from Ukraine who now lives in Tromsø, Norway. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2023 and 2024, and has been published many times in literary magazines in Ukrainian and English.