#Identity before #Sovereignty #poetry #Ukraine #God #prayer #war #terror #genocide #Russia #peace #victory #TarasShevchenko #IvanFranko #LesyaUkraina #VasylStus #HryhoriiSkovoroda #freedom #independence #Ukraine #SlavaUkraini #HeroyamSlava

Honoring their forefathers,
their mother within culture,
Seeing them as parents
of Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
Honored on their currency,
their poets and their conscience,
Identity before sovereignty
for Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
Not generals or presidents,
but leaders of culture,
Words that shine their identity
before Ukraine’s nation-state...
 
Not Kozaks or Hetman
(they have been replaced),
but parents of their spirit,
Identity before sovereignty,
What it means to be Ukraine...
 
--------
October 2, 2026
Identity before Sovereignty
 
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
 
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 #IvanFranko #LesyaUkraina #VasylStus #HryhoriiSkovoroda #freedom #independence #Ukraine #SlavaUkraini #HeroyamSlava