Sirens, Screens, and Straits

Sirens, Screens, and Straits

Verse 1

Morning over Kyiv turns to a cloud of blades, Lviv’s old stones wear fresh scars and ash-gray veils. A cradle song goes silent in Ivano’s halls, And in Vinnytsia, Poltava, the sky drops burning calls. NATO neighbors hear the hum beyond their lines, While on the Baltic, black tanks bloom in angry fire. A port goes quiet, a leader names the crime, And the air fills with answers made of wire.

Sources:

• Ukraine Hits Ust-Luga Oil Terminal in Largest Overnight Drone Attack of the Year – The Moscow Times
• Fire at Russia's Ust-Luga Oil Port on Baltic After Drone Attack – Bloomberg
• Russia fires more than 1,000 drones against Ukraine as spring offensive ramps up – CNN
• 2 NATO allies report Russian drone impacts amid huge attack on Ukraine – WGHN / AP
• Russia says it shot down almost 400 Ukrainian drones – The Washington Post

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Chorus

Hold on, hold on, through sirens, screens, and straits, When wires hum with rumor and the ground still shakes. We pass the light from town to town, keep breathing, keep awake, In a world of burning headlines, we choose the hands that make.

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Verse 2

A gavel falls on tricks dressed up as friends, Hooks in bright colors that never meant to end. A child with a glowing thumb learns to doubt her face, A memo whispers, win them young, and call it grace. Verdicts carve a warning in silicon and smoke, Appeals rise up like shields, but the levee’s broke. Schools and states line up with paper and pens, Like echoes from the days when tobacco met its end.

Sources:

• Jury finds Meta and YouTube negligent in landmark lawsuit on social media safety – NBC News
• Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial – CNN Business
• Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial – NPR
• Meta and YouTube found liable on all charges in landmark social media addiction trial – CBS News
• Jury decides YouTube, Meta should pay $6 million in damages – ABC News
• Meta, YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction trial – The Washington Post

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Verse 3

A message rides through Pakistan’s open door, Tehran says, not like this, not anymore. Lay down the blades and the shadows in the night, Build real locks for peace, pay the shattered right. Quiet every border where the fuse still runs, And honor the narrow strait beneath the sun. The podium in Washington beats a heavy drum, Cairo and Ankara shuttle while the missiles hum.

Sources:

• Iran rejects Trump's proposal to end the war and lays out 5 conditions – NPR
• Iran calls US proposal to end war 'maximalist, unreasonable' – Al Jazeera
• Iran rejects US ceasefire plan, issues its own demands – Boston.com / AP
• What to Know About Trump's 15-Point Peace Plan After Iran's Rejection – TIME
• Iran has no intention to hold talks with U.S. – CNBC

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Chorus

Hold on, hold on, through sirens, screens, and straits, When wires hum with rumor and the ground still shakes. We pass the light from town to town, keep breathing, keep awake, In a world of burning headlines, we choose the hands that make.

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Verse 4

Paratroopers zip their bags in Carolina dark, The quick force leans forward, eyes on Kharg. Marines ride salt and steel toward a wary shore, Close enough to matter, not to promise more. A leader says no boots, then leaves the latch undone, Says it’s already over while the engines run. Maps on warm tables draw a thin, bright thread, Between what’s said out loud and what’s unsaid.

Sources:

• Pentagon set to deploy 2,000 troops from 82nd Airborne to Middle East – The Hill
• Army paratroopers ordered to Middle East – The Washington Post
• Pentagon confirms elements from 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East – Military Times
• 82nd Airborne Division: Approximately 1,000 US soldiers preparing to deploy – CNN
• 82nd Airborne ordered to Middle East as US weighs options on Iran – Stars and Stripes

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Verse 5

A Hercules rose from the river and the green, Kissed a tree’s hard breath, then broke the scene. Jungle took the metal, fire took the air, Villagers on bikes became the first to care. A gift from the north with a polished heart, No bullet found—just questions, torn apart. Names wait in the city, candles wait for flame, While leaders trade thunder and mothers trade names.

Sources:

• Death toll in Colombian military plane crash rises to 69 – Al Jazeera
• Scores killed as Colombian military plane crashes on takeoff – CNN
• At least 66 killed in military plane crash in Colombia – NPR
• Colombia investigates military plane crash that killed 69 – The Washington Post
• Military plane crash in southwestern Colombia kills at least 66 – CBS News
• At least 66 killed and dozens injured in Colombian military plane crash – Euronews

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Verse 6

The strait turns narrow, tankers lose their way, Prices climb like fever in the heat of day. An island nation calls an energy alarm, A neighbor shortens weeks to soften harm. Reserves unlock like jars on a rainy shelf, But time is a price that won’t spend itself. A gas giant bows out under drone-stung skies, And bread-makers fear what the winter buys. The money keepers warn of a slipping floor, Old foes get a handshake at the oil-stained door.

Sources:

• Why the oil and gas price shock from the Iran war won't just fade away – Al Jazeera
• Oil Market Report – March 2026 – IEA
• The global price tag of war in the Middle East – World Economic Forum
• Oil prices rise after U.S., Iran threaten to hit energy targets – CNBC
• Effects of the Iran War on Energy Markets – Foreign Policy Research Institute

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Final Chorus

Hold on, hold on, through sirens, screens, and straits, When wires hum with rumor and the ground still shakes. We pass the light from town to town, keep breathing, keep awake, In a world of burning headlines, we choose the hands that make.

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Outro

Turn down the glowing feed, take a human hand, From Lviv to Putumayo, from Ras Laffan to sand. From Baltic flames to tarmacs where the jumpers wait, We stitch the dark with small, defiant grace. Raise your quiet voices, let the night know why: We are not the smoke—we are the startled sky.