"My Village" a Poem in Ukrainian by Ihor Pavlyuk, translated by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis

My Village

My village isn't famous for anything.
Is the cornflower in the field a wonder?
Yet it can't be replaced with
The bluest cornflower in the world.

See the path running through the field.
Where else can you find a passage stretched like this?
And at the edge of the village, two poplars whispering,
While the wind searches for mushrooms in the pine wood.

Here everything laughs and converses,
The walnut tree narrates fairy tales to the birds.
Pink branches of the cherry grove weep
On the doorsteps for all who have left.

Abundant fields of rye and dewy oats
Emerge from the mist and sway at the feet.
The willows above our pond lament,
When lovers do not visit them.

They tie each path with handkerchiefs,
Yet one alone leads to the native land.
It lies there like an earring,
Left in the grass by Spring.

I step on it discreetly,
For there are the footprints of my grandparents.
And my heart adheres to the village,
Like a drop of dew to a cornflower.

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МОЄ СЕЛО

Моє село нічим не знамените.
Хіба волошка в полі – дивина?..
Але її не може замінити
Найголубіша в світі далина.

Дивись, побігла стежечка у поле.
Де ще знайти зарошену таку?
А край села дві шепчуться тополі,
Гриби шукає вітер в сосняку.

Усе тут і сміється, й розмовляє,
Пташкам казки розказує горіх.
Рожеві гілки у вишневім гаї
За всіх відбулих плачуть на поріг.

Рясні жита і росяні отави
Біжать з туману й хиляться до ніг.
Сумують верби понад нашим ставом,
Коли не йдуть закохані до них.

Їм рушники зв’язали кожну стежку,
Та в рідний край завжди веде одна.
Вона лежить, подібна на сережку,
Яку в траві залишила весна.

По ній завжди я впевнено ступаю,
Бо там сліди бабусь і дідусів.
І до села я серцем прикипаю,
Мов до волошки крапелька роси.

Ihor Pavlyuk, born on January 1st, 1967 in Ukraine, is a Ukrainian writer, translator, and research worker. He has been named the People's Poet of Ukraine. He is the winner of a 2013 English PEN Award, as well as the Switzerland Literary Prize 2021 and other awards. He holds a doctorate in Social Communication and is a member of English PEN and the European Society of Authors. Ihor Pavlyuk studied at the Saint Petersburg military engineering-technical university, which he left in order to pursue his career as a writer. His books of lyric poetry have been published internationally in the USA, Russia, Poland, England, France, and other countries. He is also the protagonist of the films "Between Bug and God" and "Voice." For more information, please visit Ihor Pavlyuk on Wikipedia

Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian-American poet, writer, filmmaker, and author of six poetry collections. Her works have been translated into sixteen languages, and her awards and honors include a nomination for the Pushcart Prize, the "Naji Naaman Literary Prize," the "Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award," and the "Bihar Rajbhasha Parishad Award," bestowed by the government of Bihar, India. Selected poems from her award-winning book, "Bare Soul," and her poetry-film, "River of Songs," have been included in the Lunar Codex time capsule and are set to go to the moon with NASA's missions in 2023. Website: www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com