New on Poetry

Bombing of Poems Opening Program Hardop!

Poem

Mykola Ryabchuk

Side by side

Original language

So here you are, a poet

So here you are, a poet,
who one morning wakes up
and sees himself, side by side
with Li Po and Tu Fu, side by side
with Bhagavadgita, next to
Seneca’s Letters – so close –
say, two or three pages or
just on the next page and you
close the magazine, smile: “At last”,
then sit down at the table
and write as usual; the pen only
stumbling in front of
the abyss.

© Translation: 1990, Mykola Ryabchuk and Tom Pow

So here you are, a poet

© 1981, Mykola Ryabchuk
From: Winter in Lviv
Publisher: Molod’, Kyiv

Mykola Ryabchuk

Mykola Ryabchuk

(Ukraine, 1953)

Mykola Ryabchuk is one of the Ukraine’s most important intellectuals, although his name seems to be much better known abroad than at home. His first book of poetry was published when he was 36 and his first collection of short stories when he was 49. Since 2000 he has been publishing books of political analysis. Each of them has immediately been translated into several European languages.

Countries

Discover other poems and poets from Ukraine

Poems Poets

Languages

Discover other poems and poets in Ukrainian

Poems Poets

Poems

Poems of Mykola Ryabchuk

Vlady Nikitin

Mykola Ryabchuk

Nikitin

Mykola Ryabchuk

So here you are, a poet

Mykola Ryabchuk

Vic

Mykola Ryabchuk

The Straightforward Poems

Mykola Ryabchuk

The Straightforward Poems

Mykola Ryabchuk

The Straightforward Poems

Mykola Ryabchuk

The Straightforward Poems

Mykola Ryabchuk

The Straightforward Poems

Mykola Ryabchuk

Close

So here you are, a poet

So here you are, a poet,
who one morning wakes up
and sees himself, side by side
with Li Po and Tu Fu, side by side
with Bhagavadgita, next to
Seneca’s Letters – so close –
say, two or three pages or
just on the next page and you
close the magazine, smile: “At last”,
then sit down at the table
and write as usual; the pen only
stumbling in front of
the abyss.

© 1990, Mykola Ryabchuk and Tom Pow
From: Winter in Lviv

So here you are, a poet

So here you are, a poet,
who one morning wakes up
and sees himself, side by side
with Li Po and Tu Fu, side by side
with Bhagavadgita, next to
Seneca’s Letters – so close –
say, two or three pages or
just on the next page and you
close the magazine, smile: “At last”,
then sit down at the table
and write as usual; the pen only
stumbling in front of
the abyss.

© 1990, Mykola Ryabchuk and Tom Pow

Sponsors