I wrote a series of poems about “The Great Grave”,
starting with Shevchenko’s poem and then looking at the current time. “The
Great Grave” of Shevchenko is the grave of the Hetman, but much more, it is the
grave of the treasure of Ukraina's ancient glory. The people in the poem were
not able to discover the treasure, because they had collaborated with Muscovy
because they had gone along with Russian masters. The people lost their past
glory under the subjugation under Tsarist Russia. They only found the naked
bones of the hetman. The true Grave where Ukrainian glory remained cloistered, guarded
and protected because they are not worthy.
Included here is an evolution of poems about Shevchenko
poem in the 1840's going from his indictment of the appeasers and collaborators
to my poems about the current fight against the same enemy, from "The
Great Grave being opened" to, The Great Grave has been opened", to
“The spell has been broken”. To get to that last version of the story, I had to
include what Shevchenko was saying in his other poems, “To Marko Vovchok”,
about Maria Markovich, and “Hosea, Chapter XIV”, which talk about judgment on
the people and the fidelity of the people to the history and cause of Ukraine.
Shevchenko’s hope within his own despair is so important
too in understanding his poems and the cultural underpinning of the whole
country. The same enemy is striving to take so much. The same compromises are
on the table before them, the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, the rape and
torture, the barbarity of the Tsar and the Russian people are all the same. The
active choice to reject subjugation and subordination today answers the
judgement of Shevchenko, wholly consistent with the arc of his poems. Today’s
Ukraine and Ukrainians, every son and black-haired maiden, are a living
testament to his words and his own love and faith in his homeland, Ukraina…
My poems argue that the treasure is being opened by the
bravery of the Ukrainian people in this moment of crisis. Their choice to
struggle for true freedom, not giving land for false peace, not acquiescing or
collaborating with Russia.
The great loss in the original is buoyed by the
redemptive nature of the moment we are in, using the “Hosea XIV” and “To Mark
Vovchok” as the connective tissue uniting “The Great Grave” to this current
moment. Hope and renewal are at an awful cost, but Ukraine and Ukrainians step
up every day, giving up their lives for the cause of freedom of their people
and their country. Even the spark was enough, as we see in “To Marko Vovchok”,
to give Shevchenko peace.
My poems assert that that fidelity to Ukraine and the
choice of this generation to fight for Ukraine and not compromise land for
peace make them worthy to open the great grave.
Now the grave has been opened and glory is upon the
soldiers and the #Ukrainian people of today, based on their resilience and
fidelity to the nation.
Lastly, I assert in my poems that it is Taras
Shevchenko's own grave that is the great grave. It is his own fidelity to
Ukraine, his heart for Ukraine that made the difference, that steeled the will
of these good and noble people, even if he himself didn’t see it. Shevchenko’s spiritual
grave is the repository of the treasure of Ukraine’s past glory.
All of my poems, photographs, and
videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,
2018, 2019, 2020, 202 2022, 2023, and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me
at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
poetry, Ukraine, God, prayer, war, terror, genocide, Russia,
peace, victory, Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian, freedom, independence, history,
glory, pain, serfdom, muse, prison,
#poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia
#peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #Taras #Shevchenko #muse #Ukrainian #glory
#serfdom #prison #freedom #independence #history
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