I’m well-to-do
“I bahata ia”
I’m well-to-do
And very pretty,
But I don’t have a mate.
My fate’s so cruel!
It’s hard to live in this world
Not having someone to love,
To wear velvet coats
When I’m all alone.
I’d fall in love,
I’d get married
To a dark-haired orphan,
But it’s not my choice!
My father and mother stay awake all night
Standing guard,
They don’t even let me out alone
In the garden to stroll.
When they let me, it’s only
With a really awful old man,
With my wealthy unbeloved,
With my wicked foe!
Taras Shevchenko.
“I bahata ia”
("І багата я")
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/Ukr_Lit/Vol01/01-04.html