Thinking of the Ukraine My grandma Sophie was born in the town of Kishinev, at that time, within Kiev, Russia, in 1895. In those days the borders changed every other week, so you could say she was born in Romania, the week that Kishinev was in Romania. This poem is dedicated to her. She was not educated: the Tsar forbade girls from getting an education, probably because they were indentured to sew for the royals. In later years I met someone whose grandmother also sewed for the Tsar, and it dawned on me that little girls had to work at … Continue reading →