90th anniversary since Vasyl Symonenko’s

On January 8, 1935, the poet Vasyl Symonenko was born in the village of Biivtsi, Lubny district, Poltava region. Fate granted him only 28 years, but even during this short period of his creative life, he left a significant mark on Ukraine’s literary horizon. He wrote aptly and truthfully, like conscience itself.

As a child, he experienced the hardships of World War II, post-war famine and poverty. From an early age, he saw that in the “best in the world” Soviet state, there was too much injustice and outright crimes against humanity. Yevhen Malaniuk defined Symonenko’s poetry as “the fierce cry of a wise slave.” Wise slaves were dangerous to the Soviet system. Vasyl Symonenko died under mysterious circumstances, according to the official version, from kidney cancer, but many are convinced that it was a cynical murder.

Symonenko wrote about his experiences in the post-war famine years in the poems “47th Year” (1956) and “Hungry Symphony” (1961). Today, the frank lines of his impressive poetry are for your attention:

47th Year

Long forgotten are grudges and disputes,

The poor, hunger-stricken days.

But I won’t forget how buckwheat bubbled,

And storks that gathered on the stubble.

And people walking, indifferent as cranes,

With ancient scythes clutched firmly in their hands.

They left black pitchers by the half-stacked sheaves,

And gritting their teeth, fulfilled the plans.

And widows wailing, children crying “Bread,”

And acorns were the only breakfast left.

And skeletons were crawling in the carts,

As thin as trudodni on the collective farms.

I can’t forget the peasants’ gloomy eyes,

And mothers’ frightened, anxious faces,

While you, corrupt and soulless parasites,

Wrote lies about their “wealthy lives.”