30 Days of Ukrainian Poetry - Day 29 - "We're silent, poetry and I"

Here we are on this last day of August, which falls ever-so-perfectly on a Friday, and I am a day behind. No matter, it means we will have a two-poem day today to finish off this project, 30 Days of Ukrainian Poetry.

First - Day 29, which is happening on Day 30, which is happening on the 31st day of the month. Краще так, ніж ніяк. Both Day 29 and Day 30 are devoted to poems about poetry; about how and why people write poetry. It seems only fitting.

We started this poetry journey with Lina Kostenko, and it is to her we turn once again for this penultimate poem of the month. I hope to perhaps dive into some of her prose works now that I have finished my first major foray into Ukrainian literature. For those who wish to find her work in English, here is a bibliography of translations. You can find some collections on Amazon if you are willing to brave the occasional notices of "unavailable" or "out of print".

Lina Kostenko recently turned 88, and is still writing and teaching.

Ми мовчимо – поезія і я

Ліна Кстоенко 

Ми мовчимо — поезія і я.
Ми одна одній дивимось у вічі.
Вона не знає, як моє ім’я,—
мене немає в нашому сторіччі.

Я не зійшла, посіяна в бетон.
Не прийнялась, морозами прибита.
Я недоцільна — наче камертон
у кулаці кошлатого бандита.

We are silent - poetry and I

Lina Kostenko

We are silent - poetry and I
We look one another in the face
She does not know my name, -
I am not in our century.

I stay put, planted in concrete.
I haven't moved, held fast by frosts.
I don't quite fit - like a tuning fork
in the fist of a shaggy bandit.

The contents of this blog reflect my personal views and experiences only, and are not indicative of the views of the Peace Corps or any other entity. I need to put this note on here or I get in trouble.