The muse
("A ty, prechystaia, sviataia...")
O thou most chaste and holy maiden,
Of Phoebus the beloved young sister,
You took me when I was a child
And carried me into the meadow;
There on a tomb upon the meadow,
You wrapped me in a cloud of gray
Just as that freedom in the valley
And fondled me and sang your measures
And worked your charms ...
And I, meanwhile ...
0 my enchantress ever fair,
You helped me where so ever I was,
You watched over me where ever I was,
And everywhere, my star of brilliance,
You glowed, by evil never spotted,
And on the steppe, the barren steppe,
In my deepest prison
You shone there in gleaming raiment
Like flower in the field.
From the filthy hole of prison
You flew out to meet me
As a bird, both pure and holy.
And above my person
You flew down with pennons golden
And you sang so sweetly.
You refreshed my thirsty spirit
With the living water.
And so 1 live, above my head
With all your Godlike charm and beauty,
You blaze forever, star of heaven.
You will receive me, cherubim,
Revered six-winged seraphim,
My holy counselor adored,
My fate which leads me since my youth,
Do not forsake me!
And at night
In daytime, evening, and the morning
Be with me ever, teach to me
With my sincere and truthful lips
To tell the truth !
Then help me too
To send a prayer unto my end;
And when I die, my sacred friend,
My loving mother, place your son
Within his small and narrow casket,
And show at least one little tear
In your immortal, holy eyes!
Taras Shevchenko
"A ty, prechystaia, sviataia..."
("А ти, пречистая, святая...")
1858, Nyzhnii Novhorod (Нижній Новгород)
Translated by Clarence A. Manning
Original publication:
Taras Shevchenko. Zibrannia tvoriv: U 6 t. — K., 2003. — T. 2: Poeziia 1847-1861. —
S. 262-263; 699-700
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 69-70.