30 Days of Ukrainian Poetry - Day 11 - "Two Sister-Kittens"

A day late, but here we are with Day 11! Yesterday I was preoccupied with a kitten I found in a busy parking lot. She was clearly disoriented and confused, and not just a stray who had grown up in that area. I learned later that people commonly drop unwanted cats near where I found her. So, yesterday, I took that grace day I have by virtue of the fact that August is a 31-day month, and instead of reading poetry I spent my time taking this kitten to the vet, and, with the help of a few other Volunteers, removing a shocking number of fleas from her.

In honor of this little kitten, I have decided to delve into some Ukrainian children's verses. Ukraine has plenty of nursery rhymes and children's poems, and it didn't take me long to find one about a cat - or in this case, about two sister kittens.

Before we get to the poem, though, let's talk a bit about the author:
Gregoriy Boyko (1923 - 1978) was well known as a writer of lighthearted and funny children's poetry, as well as for his love of his native Donetska Oblast. Gregoriy Boyko's first published poetry collection, "My Donechchyna," was dedicated to his homeland. A note here on language: Cities and regions often have related names: Donetsk is a city, Donetska Oblast is the administrative region of which Donetsk is the capital, and Donechchyna refers to the Donetsk area in a more geographical and historical sense. If the name "Donetsk" sounds familiar to you, it may be because Gregoriy's beloved Donechchyna has for several years now been embroiled in conflict.

This 2014 map from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine gives a good idea of where the conflict has been taking place the last several years. 

It is often the case here in Ukraine that joy and sweetness coexist closely with loss and tragedy, and hence I am writing a bit about the war in a blog post that is otherwise devoted to kittens. Let's turn back now to the topic of kittens, and to the sort of humorous children's poetry for which Gregoriy Boyko is remembered.

Дві киці-сестриці

Григорій Бойко

Дві киці-сестриці,
Зелені очиці,
Дві киці-сестриці
Схотіли водиці.

Корито стареньке
Стоїть біля хати,
На ньому любенько
Сидять голуб'ята.

Дві киці-сестриці
Про воду й забули,
Дві киці-сестриці
Поживу зачули.

У них оченята
Горять, мов жаринки:
— Смачні голуб'ята,
Аж котиться слинка! —

Плигнули... Та птицям
Вдалося злетіти,
А киці-сестриці
Упали в корито.

В холодній водиці
Нявчать кошенята...
Що, киці-сестриці, 
Смачні голуб'ята?!

Two Sister Kittens

Gregoriy Boyko

Two sister kittens, 
Eyes of green,
Two sister kittens, 
Want something to drink

A little old trough
Stands next to the house,
And in this old trough
Sit sweet baby doves.

Two sister kittens
Forgot about drinking, 
Two sister kittens, 
About food started thinking.

The kittens' eyes gleaming 
 Bright like with fire
--Tasty little doves,
The kittens' mouths watered!-- 

The little birds flew away
When the kittens pounced,
And two sister-kittens
Fell into the trough. 

In the cold water
the kittens mew-mew.
So, sister kittens,
How'd those doves taste to you? 

I made a few pronunciation errors because I was juggling a kitten. But worth it.

No more renditions of that little poem to share with you guys, unfortunately. So here's another cat picture.

I cannot keep the kitten, as per my landlady's dislike of pets. If you are in the Cherkasy region or nearby and know of somebody who would love to adopt an affectionate, nicely behaved female kitten, please reach out. I'm in the process of making sure she is free of fleas and parasites, vaccinated, and spayed, and I would love to find a responsible owner.