Taras Shevchenko's poem “Days go by and nights go by” (translation: Alexander J. Motyl)


Four Poems

Days go by and nights go by
(
"Mynaiut' dni, mynaiut' nochi")

Days go by and nights go by
and summers end;  
leaves turn yellow, leaves turn dry;  
my eyes are dead.
My thoughts are asleep,
my heart doesn’t beat,
and all things sleep.
And I’m wondering:
Am I alive
or barely living
or just wandering?
If only I could laugh  
or even cry.
Tell me, fate, where are you?
Have I none?
If you can’t spare a good one, Lord,
then how about a bad one?
Just don’t let me sleepwalk
and lose my heart
and roll through life
like a rotten log.
Let me live,  
let my heart live,
let me love.
And if not—
to hell with the world!
It’s bad to be in chains
and die a slave.
But it’s worse to sleep  
and sleep in freedom
and to fall asleep forever  
without leaving a trace.
Did you live? Did you die?
Who cares?
Tell me, fate, where are you?
I have none!
If you can’t spare a good one, Lord,
then how about a bad one?

Taras Shevchenko,
"Mynaiut' dni, mynaiut'nochi"
("Минають дні, минають ночі"),
1845 Vjunishsce, (В’юнище)

Translated by Alexander J. Motyl

Original publication:

Taras Shevchenko, Untitled ("Mynaiut' dni, mynaiut'
nochi"), Zibrannia tvoriv u 6 tomakh, Кyiv: Naukova dumka, 2003, 1: 367.

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

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