My poem was read by Bill Gulka while Holosay sang "in memory of Taras Shevchencko" " Vichnay Pamyat" melody written by Audrey Bayzada
The Bard of Ukraine
Taras Shevchenko, we remember you today
A peasant’s son, orphaned at 11
An unschooled layman
A cultured serf
We remember your freedom
One of life’s small victories
We remember how you suffered for the love of humanity
And how you spoke to us as a wandering minstrel in Kobzar
and gave us testament in Zapovit
We remember you as a literary genius,
a great humanitarian, a poet, an artist speaking through your one thousand works of art
We remember that in your death, you still speak to us, free or serf, slave or not
Your voice resonates from the grave, a continual shout for fairness, for justice, for equality in the world
You shout
“End oppression now”
“Eliminate poverty, share the wealth”
“Take care of woman, children, especially the orphans”
We remember your compassion and prayers for Ukrainian people
And for all people
All of humanity
Greed is rampant
Leaders are silent
Governments are deaf
No one listened to your cries then or now
But still… we remember you
We remember you
And in your voice we shout your words
“Stop oppression”
“Stop selfishness”
“Stop war”
We remember you today
And…we will always remember you
And pay tribute to you…
Especially on the 120th anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Canada
We remember you and we are reminded of your great efforts for change
We remember your ideas, your beliefs and your vision
“Create peace”
“Create hope”
“Create a new and better world
Today, tomorrow and always…
@2011 Marion
Picture borrowed from the Shevenchko website
