The Lotus Tree Literary Review, Autumn 2022 (issue #1)

Table of Contents [click icon to toggle]

24 | A Nonet by Poet Laureate Wendy Van Camp


Grandfather’s Journey

Why did you leave Ukraine, Grandfather?
To walk o’r Europe all alone
Did Ellis Island beckon
Or did Bears frighten you
“You don’t need to know”
his soul reply
but Grandpa,
I do
know

Editor’s Note: Wendy states: “This is a poem inspired by memories about my grandfather who fled Ukraine when Russia invaded and captured it. He left his homeland with little more than the shirt on his back, walking across Europe on foot during his journey to America, before the iron curtain sealed his path to freedom.”

Wendy Van Camp
Wendy Van Camp

Wendy Van Camp is the Poet Laureate of the City of Anaheim, California. Her work is influenced by cutting edge technology, astronomy, and daydreams. A graduate of the Ad Astra Speculative Fiction Workshop, Wendy has won Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future Contest, is a twice nominated finalist for the Elgin Award, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Dwarf Stars Award. Her poems have appeared in: The Starlight SciFaiku ReviewQuantum VisionsThe Junction, and Far Horizons. She is the poet and illustrator of The Planets: a scifaiku poetry collection and editor of the annual Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry by Dimensionfold Publishing.