Poem of Taras Shevchenko "This is not a lofty poplar". Ukrainian-to-English translation by Vera Rich

Taras Shevchenko

THIS IS NOT A LOFTY POPLAR

("Ne topoliu vysokuju" / "Не тополю високую")

This is not a lofty poplar 
That the wind is swaying,
But a girl who, young and lonely,
Curses fortune, saying:
"May the deep sea drown you, fortune,
Underneath its waves,
Since you grant not, even now.
Someone I can love!
How the girls all kiss their sweethearts, 
How they hold them close,
Embracing, and the love they feel,
Still I do not know...
And I shall never know. O mother,
Hard it is to live
A maiden, all one’s life a maiden,
Never fall in love."

Taras Shevchenko's poem
"Ne topoliu vysokuju"
("Не тополю високую")
1848, Kos-Aral, (Косарал)

Translated by Vera Rich

Source of the original poem in Ukrainian: Taras Shevchenko. Zibrannja tvoriv: U 6 t. — Kyjiv, "Naukova dumka", 2003. Том 2: Поезія 1847 - 1861, stor. 149; 644. 

Source of English translation of the poem: Taras Shevchenko."Song out of Darkness". Selected poems translated from the Ukrainian by Vera Rich. London, 1961, p. 93.

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