I have no land, no fortune,

no men to fight for me,

no battles to be choosing.

All I am is a one man unit.

I overcome

no losses;

I celebrate

no victories;

I wasn’t born with war in me.

When I breathe

the leaves stand still.

*

I named you after bloodshed,

to fight, to conquer,

a name to keep – a sort of trophy.

I gave you half a life –

that’s all I had in me.

Forgive me, I’m only half a God;

I can’t make up a war

that you and I can both survive.

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Yeldana Talgatkyzy is from Astana, Kazakhstan. She is a junior at Williams College studying English and Psychology. Yeldana grew up listening to stories about her family and she is interested in finding ways to obscure those experiences through writing.