Ukraine under fire (Web photo courtesy of Euronews.com)
The world has a compound fracture.
We are a body in pain.
Bone broken through skin in a vital part.
My Boy Scout Handbook described first aid for this wound.
End of a snapped white bone, ragged as a snapped pine branch.
Bloody punctured flesh, the victim in shock, semi-conscious.
Rub the arms and legs towards the body core.
Warm with a blanket, offer water, hot tea.
An extreme injury a scout hopes not to see.
The Handbook shows what to do:
Splint and bandage, the picked-up wood and torn-off shirtsleeve,
First response,
Step-by-step.
Now.
—Paul Marion, March 8, 2022