Gain knowledge, brothers! Think and read,
And to your neighbors’ gifts pay heed,
Yet do not thus neglect your own.
Sadly I weep when I recall
The unforgotten deeds of all
Our ancestors: their toilsome deeds!
Could I forget their pangs and needs,
I, as my price, would then suppress
Half of my own life’s happiness…
~ Taras Shevchenko
(My Friendly Epistle)
Speaks of a hard life of long days of toil.
Pymonenko was known for painting Ukrainian peasants in scenes from their everyday lives at the time my paternal grandparents were growing up there. This painting gives me a glimpse of what their lives might have been like prior to their emigration to America.
The painting reminds me of one called “Goose Girl” that my mother used to have. Thank you for stirring a wonderful memory.
I did a search on “Goose Girl” and found several delightful images – it’s also the name of one of Grimm’s fairy tales… My aunt often spoke of eating goose eggs when she was a little girl.
Heeding others, yet tending the self. I like the picture, too.
My grandfather had on a postcard another translation of the first verse put this way: “Read and learn from other folks, but do not spurn your own.”
Shevchenko was born a Ukrainian peasant but someone in his village taught him to read and then arranged an apprenticeship for him. He was also a good artist. I love the way he honors with words the sacrifices of the ordinary folks who came before us.
Love the picture. It also reminds me of something from my childhood.
I love it, too – it makes me feel a little more connected to my ancestors. Did you grow up on a farm or visit someone who lived on a farm?
Love this post!
I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Hi Barbara,
A very deep poem indeed, we do tend to forget some days about what people have done in the past.
I read the poem 3 times, and I got 3 different meanings, it is one of those poems I think, you can see in different ways. I loved it. The picture is gorgeous.
It is deep, magsx2, and it does seem that poetry, like art, offers many layers of meaning for those that take time to reflect.
And then there is the translation thing – I wish I could see how the postcard translator would have rendered the rest of the poem as I think I like his concise and simplified translation of the first verse a little better.