Poem "The sun sets, the mountains darken" (T. Shevchenko, tr. Alexander J. Motyl)


Four Poems

To N. N.
As the sun sets and hills grow dark
(
“Sontse zakhodyt', hory chorniiut'”)

As the sun sets and hills grow dark,
as the birdsong ends and fields fall silent,
as the people laugh and take their rest,
I watch.
My heart hurries  
to the twilit gardens of Ukraine.
And I hurry.
O, how I hurry with my thoughts,
as my heart yearns for rest.
As the fields grow dark,
as the groves grow dark,
as the hills grow dark,
I see a star.  
And I weep.  
Hey, you star! Have you reached Ukraine?
Do dark eyes scour the blue sky for you? 
Or don’t they care?
May they sleep if they don’t.
May they know nothing of my fate.

Taras Shevchenko
“Sontse zakhodyt', hory chorniiut'”
("Сонце заходить, гори чорніють")
1847, Orsk Fortress (Орська фортеця)

Translated by Alexander J. Motyl


Original publication:

Taras Shevchenko, Untitled “(Sontse zakhodyt', hory
chorniiut'),” Zibrannia tvoriv u 6 tomakh, Кyiv: Naukova dumka, 2003, 2: 35. 

Source:
"Ukrainian Literature. A Journal of Translations" Volume 4.2014"
Shevchenko Scientific Society, New York, USA

http://sites.utoronto.ca/

 


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