In October, we published “Nature and home-cooked means enable Ukrainian Alisa Moha to find comfort in her new life.”
Moha was asked to write a poem for her English as a Second Language class. Her teacher, Laura Taylor, was so moved by the poem she asked Moha if she could share it with the faculty. Since then, more people have asked to read the poem, and Moha herself has offered to explain what it means to her.
The poem, titled “In the Soul of Wheat and Freedom,” takes its name from Ukraine’s unofficial title as the world’s breadbasket. According to the BBC, “Before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine was the world’s seventh largest exporter of wheat, fourth largest exporter of barley, and the biggest exporter of sunflower seeds.”
Despite the deadly war with Russia and serious disruptions to old trade routes on the Black Sea, Ukraine has continued to export wheat.
The second idea in her title, freedom, is highly regarded by Ukrainians, just as it is for Americans. In the Ukrainian national anthem, the first lines translate to “Neither the will nor the glory of Ukraine has died yet.”
“This poem is a glimpse into the experiences that have shaped who I am today,” said Moha. “I wrote it as a way to reflect on the different paths I have taken, both the joyful and the challenging.”
Moha believes that each verse “represents a moment, a feeling, or a lesson” that have stayed with her. Each stanza, she said, “is like a chapter, filled with memories that have contributed to who I am.”
Moha loves her Ukrainian homeland and wishes it peace. She wrote this poem for her fellow Ukrainians, both those still living there–and also those displaced by the war to new homes around the globe.
“It is hard for us, but we will cope,” Moha said. “Even here, thousands of miles from home, we do not forget about it, but continue to fight.”
In the Soul of Wheat and Freedom
By Alisa Moha
I come from the wide steppes
And from megacities
From birds singing
From the noise of the sea
And the height of the Carpathiaus
From viburnum and poppy
And melodiousness of the song
From Vyshyvanka and the word “freedom”
My life was beautiful
Until the war came
I was scared and devastated
But I had a family
My family- my support
My mother always clings to herself
My dad will always support me
My grandparents will give me instructions
Time passed, I got used to it
New life has come
With rockets, explosions
And restless sleep
Without friends in this world,
It’s like being completely alone
But apparently the suffering was heard
God sent me a new family
Then I gained hope
“Everything is getting better,” -I told myself
“New people, new knowledge”
I finally got a taste for life
Met them- like- minded people
Different ages, but so close to me
But the luck was short-lived
New fears
Bombs in the city
And here I am already on the plane
So lonely again
Left all my life
Now my name is emigrant
And I hope to meet those
Whom I left behind
And now I am going to meet a new life
