YAKIMCHUK, Lyuba

Prayer

Father, who are in heaven

of the full moon

and the hollow sun

shield from death my parents

whose house stands in the line of fire

and who won’t abandon it

like a tomb

…..
I carry within me a Motherland

and cannot puke it out

for it circulates like blood

through my heart

our daily bread give to the hungry

and let them stop devouring one another

our light give to the deceived

and let them gain clarity

and forgive us our destroyed cities

even though we do not forgive for them our enemies

and lead us not into temptation

to go down with this rotting world

but deliver us from evil

to get rid of this burden of a Motherland

heavy and hardly useful

shield from me

my husband, my parents

my child, and my Motherland

Translated by Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinsky