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 is the Poet Laureate for 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 is a nominated finalist for the Elgin Award, for a Pushcart Prize, and for a Dwarf Stars Award. Her poems, stories, and articles have appeared in: Starlight Scifaiku Review, The Junction, Quantum Visions, and other literary journals. She is the poet and illustrator of The Planets: a scifaiku poetry collection and editor of the annual anthologies Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry and Anaheim Poetry Review.