Wonder why Ukraini is resisting Putin so freaking hard? I do and my family came outta there. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch says look to poetry. The beloved Ukrainian poet laureate Taras Shevchenko, c. 1845:
When I am dead, bury me In my beloved Ukraine,
My tomb upon a grave mound high Amid the spreading plain,
So that the fields, the boundless steppes,
The Dnieper's plunging shore My eyes could see, my ears could hear The mighty river roar.
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When from Ukraine the Dnieper bears Into the deep blue sea The blood of foes ... then will I leave These hills and fertile fields—
I'll leave them all and fly away To the abode of God,
And then I'll pray .... But until that day I know nothing of God.
Oh bury me, then rise ye up And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrants' blood The freedom you have gained.
And in the great new family, The family of the free, With softly spoken, kindly word
Remember also me.