"Is There a Light For Me?"

Over the past several days I have been dipping into my new copy of Shevchenko's "Kobzar" (which means, "The Bard" in Ukrainian). I attempted to work out the meaning of several of his little poems. The first few lines of this one, entitled "Сестрі" with a date of July 20, 1859, appealed to me:

Минаючи убогі села

Понаддніпрянські невеселі,

Я думав: «Де ж я прихилюсь?

І де подінуся на світі?»

(In my edition of "Kobzar," this appears at page 642) My rough attempt at translation (with vast textual liberties taken) is as follows:

Passing Dnipro's towns and streets,

Of leafless trees and pavements gray,

I thought: "Is there a light for me

Above some porch along the way?"

This seems to capture the deepest longing of the human heart--to belong somewhere, to have a refuge from the night, to see welcoming faces peering through the evening windows, yellow with light. This sentiment has come to mind again and again over the past few days, as I have seen men on crutches asleep in the portals of the Metro, old women sitting hunched on street corners with little paper cups, begging for a few small coins, or long lines of plain-looking men and women selling home-grown beets, potatoes, cabbages, nuts or home preserves on busy sidewalks. It touches your heart to see those who are lost, alone, frightened or struggling to survive in this cold and wintry world.

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In some small way, my efforts of the past few weeks have been to light a lamp above some little front porch by the wayside--to assist in kindling the light of freedom and liberty among a people who for too long have been subjected to fear and darkness. May the porchlights of this great nation burn ever bright.