30 Days of Ukrainian Poetry - Day 2 - "Water Flows from Beneath the Sycamore"

Whew! Made it to Day 2 (although barely). It would have been a real bummer to launch something and then miss the second day. Thursdays are tough because I run two English clubs at my Peace Corps site in Ukraine, and am also currently taking an online class that is weekly on Thursdays. So, I didn't have the time to really savor this poem properly - but a quick read while hustling between English clubs is better than nothing!

Today I'm reading a piece from the legendary Taras Shevchenko. He is perhaps Ukraine's most beloved poet. Most cities have a major street named after him, and his monuments are everywhere.

Meeting Taras Shevchenko for the first time as a Trainee in Chernihiv

I even ran into Mr. Shevchenko in Slovenia! On a surprise trip to the village of Štanjel, I spotted that characteristic mustache right away. It turns out Slovenian author Josip Abram translated Shevchenko's works in this very building atop a rocky hillside near the Italian border.

Anyway, without further ado - let's get to the poem: Тече Вода з-під Явора (Water Flows from Beneath the Sycamore). This time I'm using a translation I found in an online collection. There are certain details it leaves out or alters slightly for the sake of making the poem sound nice in English, but it captures the imagery and the sentiment well enough.

Тече Вода з-під Явора

Тарас Шевченко

Тече вода з-під явора

Яром до долину.

Пишається над водою

Червона калина. 

Пишається калинонька,

Явор молодіє,

А кругом їх верболози

Й лози зеленіють. 

Тече вода із-за гаю

Та попід горою.

Хлюпощуться качаточка

Помеж осокою.

А качечка випливає 

З качуром за ними,

Ловить ряску, розмовляє

З дітками своїми.

Тече вода край города.

Вода ставом стала.

Прийшло дівча воду брати,

Брало, заспівало. 

Вийшли з хати батько і мати

В садок погуляти,

Порадитись, кого б то їм 

Своїм зятем звати?

Water Flows from Beneath the Sycamore 

Taras Shevchenko

Translated by Iryna Holod

From beneath the sycamore
the water’s springing,
To the valley through the ravine
Guelder rose over water bending.
All in pride is the guelder rose
The sycamore stands still
All surrounded by willows
And sallows getting green

Far behind the grove
The water is on edge,
Ducklings splash in sparkling water
Among bushy sedge.
Following the ducklings
Duck and drake are merging,
Seizing duckweeds, chat
To their off-springs.

The water flows along the garden
Making a small pond
The girl comes there for the water
And to sing a song.
Her dad’nd mum behind the house
Walking to and fro
Ask themselves – Which of the fellows
Should be their son-in-law?

This poem gives a cheerful glimpse of life in easy motion. A stream flowing, ducks paddling along its waters, a girl gathering water from the pond while her parents wonder who she will marry someday. I unfortunately wasn't able to capture this ease in my recording today, as I had just run down a hill to the park to squeeze in a super-fast recording by the river before running back up aforementioned hill to conduct my second English club of the day. I struggled a bit with pronunciation, and the fact that I hurried doesn't help. Luckily, this poem has been made into numerous songs and recordings that you can enjoy.

For something that better captures the happy spirit of this poem, enjoy this song accompanied by photos and artwork that wonderfully illustrate Shevchenko's words.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a calmer day with more time to enjoy this lovely poetry!





The content shared in this blog reflects my own personal views and experiences, and is not indicative of the views of Peace Corps or the governments of the US or Ukraine.