CAFUKR Events
In aid of Chorleywood Aid for Ukraine
Mozart Requiem
+ Gounod Petite Symphonie for Winds
+ Elgar Serenade for Strings
Chorleywood Choral Society / Chorleywood Orchestra / Chess Players
Conducted by Daniel Hogan
Saturday 24th September 2022 at 7pm
St Andrew’s Church, Quickley Lane
Tickets £15, Concession £7
Left to Right: Fiona Miller-McFarlane (Chorleywood Orchestra), Sarah Barnett (Chorleywood Choral Society), Andrew McFarlane (Chorleywood Orchestra), & Helen Heneker (Chorleywood Orchestra) presenting Pierre Bosdet of CAFUKR with a cheque for £1,125 from their charity concert.
Poem dedicated to Chorleywood Aid for Ukraine by the local author
For Artem and the Children of Ukraine
Yellow Cement Truck
A little boy of not yet three,
Looks up to camera and through it, me
And you, and them, and us and we
The world must know his story
His face is scarred, his wide-eyes staring
A ward with other children sharing
A tiny chest, punctured with hate
Their missiles don’t discriminate
With silent eyes he reaches through
The camera lens to me and you
And them and us, and we and thee
This little boy who’s not yet three
For what should young life know of war?
The bloodshed, terror, pain and gore
His innocence they took away
When they invaded on that day
Then into focus we can see
A shadow of what used to be
For by his side a favourite toy
A yellow, cement truck for a little boy
The shrapnel wounds will fade in time
And peace will come; the sun will shine
But hidden scars more deeply set
May linger on for some time yet
And through a small child’s eyes reflected
A senseless, bloody war rejected
By you and me, and us and them
And every child like Artem
If I could to the future see
I pray this dear, sweet boy will be
In full health, playing happily
With his yellow truck, at just turned three
©Felicity Field, May 2022
Based on a BBC News report from a children’s hospital in Zaporizhzia on 20/3/22
‘Yellow Cement Truck’ is based on a BBC news report from a children’s hospital in Zaporizhzia on 20th March 2022.
In the same news report and in the bed next to Artem, Masha, a beautiful fifteen year old girl, lies traumatised. Her right leg has been amputated and her fractured right arm is being held together with a metal frame. She wouldn’t eat or drink for several days after sustaining her injuries.
Also in the report, a doctor tells of a little boy of six with shrapnel wounds to his skull, who saw his mum burn to death in their car when it was hit by a missile. With no emotion the boy tells his dad: “Dad, buy me a mum. I want someone to take me to school.”
If this poem resonates with you and you would like to make a donation, please refer to our Donations page.