As a Ukrainian American, every day since 24 February 2022, I have had to navigate life existing in two realities: the reality of a comfortable American life with the reality of war in my other homeland of Ukraine. In this poem, the speaker conveys the reality of war--of financially supporting family members in Ukraine--while grappling with American economics, which primarily center on materialism and ownership. 

Nicole Yurcaba (Нікола Юрцаба) is a Ukrainian American of Hutsul/Lemko origin. Her poems and reviews have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Atlanta Review, Seneca Review, New Eastern Europe, and Ukraine’s Euromaidan Press, Lit Gazeta, Chytomo, Bukvoid, and The New Voice of Ukraine. 

X: @nyurtsaba