Lord, the way Tychyna writes:
“And Bely, and Blok, and Yesenin”
the way they surrounded us
on all four sides
give us strength and power
a hastily packed suitcase and bread
naturally their sly foxes lie
that we have neither shields nor centuries

Ihor leads us somewhere
over the Don with his regiments
today with the February snow
and tomorrow with a bloody shield

and their dark forces come from Tmutarakan
and Mokshas and Chud
shoot at our location
hit at the positions we take

so what is there in The Tale of Ihor’s Campaign
and what is there in ancient sounds
you — jumping barefoot as a wolf
spreading the spit of the devil

reached the rivers and borders
reached my clenched heart
your blackened icons
can’t even be cleansed with milk

Lord, the way Tychyna writes
about Kyiv — the Messiah — about the country
why didn’t we learn these poems by heart?
Bleed — my heart — bleed

(Translated from the Ukrainian by Olena Jennings)

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