O my thoughts, my heartfelt thoughts,
I am troubled for you!
Why have you ranged yourselves on paper
In your ranks of sorrow?
Why did the wind not scatter you,
Like dust-motes, in the steppe?
Why did ill-fate not overlie
You, her babes, while she slept?
Taras Shevchenko
Translated from Ukrainian by Vera Rich
Shevchenko is a foremost Ukrainian poet of the 19th century and a major figure in the Ukrainian national revival.
Taras Shevchenko was not only a poet and artist, but also a folklorist and ethnographer.