Taras Shevchenko's poem "A wealthy woman do not wed" (tr. by С.H. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkconnell)

A wealthy woman do not wed

("Ne zhenysia na bahatii")

A wealthy woman do not wed:
She'll drive you from your hall.
Don't take a barefoot bride to bed:
You'll get no sleep at all.
But wed yourself to Liberty,
A Cossack's truest destiny.
Accept that lot for what it is —
Naked and all undowered!
No one will poach upon your bliss
Or leave your hopes deflowered.
No one will trouble you to ask
The cause or source of all your care.
When two men share in weeping's task
They say it's easier to bear.
'Tis false! For he who weeps alone
Finds sorrow's burden lighter grown.

Taras Shevchenko
"Ne zhenysia na bahatii"
("Не женися на багатій")
1845, Mirhorod, (Миргород)

Translated by С.H. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkconnell

Original publication: Taras Shevchenko. Zibrannia tvoriv: U 6 t. — K., 2003. — T. 1: Poeziia 1837-1847. — S. 286; S. 714 - 715.

Source: The Poetical Works of Taras Shevchenko. The Kobzar. Translated from the Ukrainian by С.H. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkconnell. Published for the Ukrainian Canadian Committee by University of Toronto Press, 1964. Toronto and Buffalo. Printed in Canada, Reprinted 1977, p. 183.

Here you can find Ukrainian text of the Taras Shevchenko's poem:
Original poem in Ukrainian