“When I am dead, bury meIn my beloved Ukraine,My tomb upon a grave mound highAmid the spreading plain,So that the fields, the boundless steppes,The Dnieper's plunging shoreMy eyes could see, my ears could hearThe mighty river roar.When from Ukraine the Dnieper bearsInto the deep blue seaThe blood of foes… then will I leaveThese hills and fertile fields --I'll leave them all and fly awayTo the abode of God,And then I'll pray…. But until that dayI know nothing of God.Oh bury me, then rise ye upAnd break your heavy chainsAnd water with the tyrants' bloodThe freedom you have gained.And in the great new family,The family of the free,With softly spoken, kindly wordRemember also me.”Taras Shevchenko TestamentoTaras Shevchenko Zapovit, 1845 (Shevchenko's "Testament"), Translated by John Weir, Toronto, 1961; Online at
