Taras Shevchenko
IN THE FORTRESS
(Tsykl "V kazemati": "Chy my shche ziidemosia znovu" /
цикл "В казематі": "Чи ми ще зійдемося знову")
XII
Shall we ever meet again,
Or have we parted now forever,
Carrying to the empty plains
Love’s word, truth’s word, to the deserts?
So be it! She was not our mother,
Yet we had to pay her honour!
Such is God’s will...
Obey it surely.
Be humble, seek the Lord in prayer
Mindfully of one another;
Star, O Star! — and the bitter tears rain —
Love her... in fierce times of evil,
In the last dread hour of struggle,
Fervently beseech God for her.
Poem of Taras Shevchenko
Tsykl "V kazemati": "Chy my shche ziidemosia znovu"
(Цикл "В казематі": "Чи ми ще зійдемося знову")
1847, St. Petersburg, In the Fortress. - 1858, Moscow
(С.-Петербург - Москва)
Translated by Vera Rich
Source of the original poem in Ukrainian:
Taras Shevchenko. Zibrannja tvoriv: U 6 t. — Kyjiv, "Naukova dumka", 2003. Том 2: Поезія 1847 - 1861, stor. 11 - 20; stor. 549 - 570.
Source of English translation of the poem: Taras Shevchenko."Song out of Darkness". Selected poems translated from the Ukrainian by Vera Rich. London, 1961, p. 88.
Here you can find Ukrainian text of the Taras Shevchenko's poem:
Original poem in Ukrainian
