Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Volodymyr (Thursday Doors)

Stop war.  Help.
Where to go?
The life left.

Tried to flee.
Stop war.  Help.
For what?  What?

So much grief.
Can’t go back.
Stop war.  Help.

I wanted to wait until the scaffolding on the left side came down to photograph St. Volodymyr, but now seems like the time to look at its front door, scaffolding or not.

The door is a simple one, of plain wood with lace curtains, in contrast to the ornate building itself. The interior is quite spectacular, to judge from the photos here. St. Volodymyr “was first constructed in 1894-96 to be a synagogue by noted New York architect Arnold W. Brunner and became a church in 1958.”

There was an interfaith prayer service held at the cathedral yesterday, attended by Gov. Kathy Hochul and other religious and political dignitaries.

Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt this week was to Create Your Own Syllabic Form. I’m calling mine “333”:
3 verses/3 lines in each verse/3 one-syllable words in each line
Line one repeats as line 2 in second verse and line 3 in third verse

The words in my poem were taken from interviews with Ukrainian refugees and inspired by the signs on St Volodymyr’s door.

Dan Antion hosts Thursday Doors here.