Shall we ever meet again...
("Chy my shhe zijdemosja znovu")
Shall we ever meet again,
Or have we parted now forever,
Carrying to the empty plains
Love’s word, tru th ’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;
Love your dear Ukraine, adore her,
Love her . . . in fierce times of evil,
In the last dread hour of struggle,
Fervently beseech God for her.
Taras Shevchenko
"Chy my shhe zijdemosja znovu"
("Чи ми ще зійдемося знову")
1838, S - Peterburg (С.- Петербург)
Translated by Vera Rich
Original publication:
Taras Shevchenko, “N. N. (Meni trynadtsiatyi
mynalo…),” Zibrannia tvoriv u 6 tomakh, Кyiv: Naukova dumka,
2003, 2:36–37.
Source:
Taras Shevchenko. Works. Volume 12. Shevchenko's poetry in translations.
Edited by Bolidan Krawciw. Printed by Mykola Denysiuk Printing Company
Chicago, Illinois — USA, 1963, page 54.