Down through the ages, Russia has tried to kill the Ukrainian identity. They have done everything to present Ukraine as the rural outskirts of the ‘great, educated and advanced’ Russian empire. But the ones who proclaimed themselves enlighteners were merely butchers, murderers. They did everything they could to erase Ukrainian culture, traditions, and even the Ukrainian language itself.
And they are still doing this, even now, literally. During the last eleven years of war, Russia has killed hundreds of people of literature. Writers, poets, translators, editors, publishers and librarians. Ukrainian men and women. As you read these words, others are left to disappear in an unread draft forever.
There is a project called ‘Nedopysani‘ (‘Unfinished‘ in English). It’s a memorial site for people of literature who will never be able to put that final dot in their notebook, who will never be able to take into their hands their first published book. And so, this is our hard and painful mission. This is what we must do for them. It is inevitable.
Today, we present the next instalment of our translation series, ‘Words Live On’. We have done our best, and we hope that it will speak to our Dear Readers in a way that cold, clinical war statistics cannot.
Glory to Ukraine! To our heroes — glory!
Excrement
Oh Lord, why do you churn out
the sick, the orphans, the starving,
the homeless and drunkards, junkies,
the heathens and sodomites, plotters,
barricaders and the majority? –
create finally in Your likeness!
Екскремент
О Господи, нащо плодиш
хворих, сиріт, голодних,
бездомних і п’яниць, наркоманів,
безбожників й содомітів, інтриганів,
барикадників та більшість? –
сотвори врешті Свою подобу!
Original poem by TARAS MATVIIV
Translation by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2020
unbolt me 
It breaks my heart. Love to you, Tony.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the love, my friend! And, yes, it is disgusting the number of lives that have been chewed up and spat out by this invasion. It breaks my heart too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The underdog stays the underdog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Alas, it is so. But not forever if Ukraine has anything to say about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s how I see it too. Can’t last forever. We shall fight and we shall never surrender!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Slava Ukraini!
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for continuing to share these artists’ voices. If it weren’t for your blog, I wouldn’t know any of their words, and that really angers and saddens me.
This is such a powerful initiative. Please keep it going. 🙏🏾🩵
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, trE. This was all Tati’s doing, so she will be heartened by your kind response! We’re looking forward to the day this war is finally over (indeed, all wars).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I know it was hers. 🙏🏾🩵 I know she’ll see these messages, too. The two of you do great work, and I love the segments that she does. I hate that they have to be done, though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it is tragic that we still have to remind people of the war in Ukraine, so your support means a lot!
LikeLiked by 1 person