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Poem

Halyna Petrosanyak

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever. . .

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever,
To pray just in Ukrainian to the surprise of the nuns.
To write letters sometimes to family after vespers,
Asking how their health is, and how their gardens are doing.
To go to the market every day along Schlossbergstrasse,
To get used to having enough, to buy a car,
To live in harmony with yourself, thanking the Savior
For the fact that all has turned out so well. And suddenly
After about twenty years, when no one
Any longer recognizes the foreigner in you, to wake up at dawn,
To pray in Ukrainian again, surprising people,
And not removing the garb of a Dominican nun,
Knowing well what and for what you\'re changing,
To set off on the road intending not to return,
Surprising those who didn\'t think the word ‘homeland’ has
Such an inconceivable dimension
And surprised yourself.

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever. . .

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To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever. . .

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever,
To pray just in Ukrainian to the surprise of the nuns.
To write letters sometimes to family after vespers,
Asking how their health is, and how their gardens are doing.
To go to the market every day along Schlossbergstrasse,
To get used to having enough, to buy a car,
To live in harmony with yourself, thanking the Savior
For the fact that all has turned out so well. And suddenly
After about twenty years, when no one
Any longer recognizes the foreigner in you, to wake up at dawn,
To pray in Ukrainian again, surprising people,
And not removing the garb of a Dominican nun,
Knowing well what and for what you\'re changing,
To set off on the road intending not to return,
Surprising those who didn\'t think the word ‘homeland’ has
Such an inconceivable dimension
And surprised yourself.

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever. . .

To remain at the Dominican school near Vienna forever,
To pray just in Ukrainian to the surprise of the nuns.
To write letters sometimes to family after vespers,
Asking how their health is, and how their gardens are doing.
To go to the market every day along Schlossbergstrasse,
To get used to having enough, to buy a car,
To live in harmony with yourself, thanking the Savior
For the fact that all has turned out so well. And suddenly
After about twenty years, when no one
Any longer recognizes the foreigner in you, to wake up at dawn,
To pray in Ukrainian again, surprising people,
And not removing the garb of a Dominican nun,
Knowing well what and for what you\'re changing,
To set off on the road intending not to return,
Surprising those who didn\'t think the word ‘homeland’ has
Such an inconceivable dimension
And surprised yourself.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère