In captivity, alone there is no one
“V nevoli, v samoti nemaie”
In captivity, alone there is no one
With whom to join your heart.
Alone, I’m searching for someone
To talk to.
I’m searching for God, but I find only
That God forbid I say it.
This is what the years and cruel fate
Have done to me; add to this
That my precious youth
Has passed in clouds, that there isn’t
Even a single event
That’s worth recalling.
But you have to comfort your soul,
For it so wants, so pleads at least
For a word of peace. You can’t hear,
It’s as though the snow in the field is
Drifting over a still warm corpse.
Poem of Taras Shevchenko,
“V nevoli, v samoti nemaie”
("В неволі, в самоті немає")
1848, Kosaral (Косарал)
Translated by Michael M. Naydan
Original publication:
Taras Shevchenko, Tvory v 6 t. [Works in 6 v.], Kyiv: Naukova dumka, 1968
Source:
"Ukrainian Literature. A Journal of Translations" Volume 1.2004"
Shevchenko Scientific Society, New York, USA
http://www.shevchenko.org/