Grief walks in black coats

And other notes on living and grieving in Ukraine

drawing by me

How much grief is in the cotton of the grey sky?

None if there’s no grief under the roof of your mind. But when there’s grief inside you, you see grief in everything around you. I recognise grief: in naked trees, shivering dogs, grey sky, pastele walls and people robbed in black coats.

Grief walks in black coats.

I do see more people wearing black clothes these days – our silent, unadmitted mourning. But some say I imagine this and everyone is as bright as they have always been. But if people have always been this bright, then perhaps mourning is the perpetual human condition. And it is. Grief is as normal and common as joy or other states of mind and heart are, if not prevailing.

How much grief is in Ukraine?

More than Ukrainians are willing to admit out loud. But will it change anything if everyone will be saying I’m grieving every day? Does it have to change anything? If history requires us to grieve, then, perhaps, we should grieve as long as our condition remains the same. And people are probably grieving. They probably watch more sad movies, listen to more sad songs, think more sad thoughts and tell each other more sad words than before. But we still try to join the public theatre of…