along comes a war
What does war feel like when it arrives on your doorstep—or on your conscience?
along comes a war brings together poetry by Freddie Omm (The Hague) and photography by Bohdana Bun (Kyiv) — two perspectives, one conflict, one act of witness.
From the streets of Kyiv under bombardment to the solidarity of those watching from abroad, this is a civilian lens on one of the defining struggles of our time—unflinching, full of hope.
Inside you’ll find sonnets, villanelles, tanka and haiku on conflict, resistance and resilience; a modern reimagining of Celan’s Deathfugue—blackseafugue; tributes to Ukrainian writer-resisters Victoria Amelina and Volodymyr Vakulenko; the long resonant story of Snake Island, from Achilles to “russian warship, go fck yourself”*; and striking Kyiv photography — street life, street art, captured tanks, seas of flags, the mythic Berehynia.
Bearing witness, building Солідарність, inspiring action.
All profits go to the Come Back Alive Foundation, supporting Ukrainians affected by war.
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Sicilian Haiku — Migrant Shadows
A Sicily of sun, myth and shadow — where the light is extraordinary, the myths are alive, and the sea carries more than tourists.
In Sicilian Haiku—Migrant Shadows, Freddie Omm weaves together haiku, mythology, love poetry and elegy into a single Sicilian journey—104 pages that move from Homer’s wine-dark sea to today’s Mediterranean crossings, from timeless gods to street dogs, from Sunsets to Sunbathers.
The poems move through Sicily’s landscapes, myths and histories with a light touch—gods and goddesses mating with mortals, Penelope’s domestic heroism, Polyphemus resisting colonisation, a modern-day dog rescued from the streets of Palermo, Odysseus’s faithful Argos, Lampedusa’s beloved Bendicò from The Leopard. There’s passion here, and elegy, but also tenderness and humour — a world of fractured selves, memes and monsters, where it’s hard to separate consumers from the consumed.
At the heart of the book is a simple, devastating contrast: some bodies on the beach have stories. Others become statistics.
The Poetic Prologue to The Dark Gospel series.
All profits go to SOS Méditerranée, supporting rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
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