#Identity before #Sovereignty – v2 #poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #freedom #independence #Ukraine #SlavaUkraini #HeroyamSlava

They honor their forefathers,
their mother within culture,
They are the parents
of Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
They are honored on their currency,
their poets and their conscience,
Identity before sovereignty
for Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
They are not generals or presidents,
but leaders of culture,
Their words shine their identity
before Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
They are not Kozaks or Hetman -
they have been replaced by coinage -
but parents of their spirit,
Identity before sovereignty,
What it means to be Ukraine...
 
--------
Edited October 5, 2026
Identity before Sovereignty – v2
October 2, 2026
Identity before Sovereignty
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2026/10/identity-before-sovereignty.html 
https://bank.gov.ua/en/uah
Faces on the Ukrainian hryvnia
(Lower denominations replaced by coins)
₴20: Ivan Franko (Writer, poet, and political activist)
₴50: Mykhailo Hrushevsky (Historian and political leader)
₴100: Taras Shevchenko (Poet, artist, and national icon)
₴200: Lesya Ukrainka (Poet and writer)
₴500: Hryhorii Skovoroda (Philosopher and poet)
₴1,000: Volodymyr Vernadsky (Scientist and philosopher)
₴2,000: Vasyl Stus (Dissident poet)
Edited September 27, 2026
They will rise – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2026/09/they-will-rise-v2.html
after Twelve Years of War
December 27, 2024
Russia must be defeated
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/.../russia-must-be...
Edited December 24, 2024
There is only one Enemy, Russia – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/there-is-one-enemy-russia-v3.html
Edited September 27, 2026
They will rise – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2026/09/they-will-rise-v2.html
after Twelve Years of War
Edited September 19, 2026
Each night he flies – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2026/09/each-night-he-flies-v3.html
Taras Shevchenko, from his grave in Kaniv, Ukraine, above the Dnipro
December 27, 2024
Russia must be defeated
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/.../russia-must-be...
December 27, 2024
Hybrid War
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/hybrid-war.html
Edited December 24, 2024
There is only one Enemy, Russia – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/there-is-one-enemy-russia-v3.html
 
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, 2024, 2025, and 2026. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
 
poetry, Ukraine, God, prayer, war, terror, genocide, Russia, peace, victory, Taras Shevchenko, freedom, independence, history, glory
 
#poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #freedom #independence #Ukraine #SlavaUkraini #HeroyamSlava