The Lemko Region produced a number of poets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose work became known to Lemkos all over because of their use of native dialect. Among these were the priest Vladymyr Chyljak120 and the teacher and artist Ivan Rusenko.121 Rusenko's poetry appealed to the common man, steeped as it was with the images of Lemko life; he wanted to teach his people of the value of their cultural inheritance while inspiring them to become educated, honest individuals. After being deported to western Ukraine in 1947, he continued to work as a teacher, and his poetry took on the theme of the Lemko's loss of his homeland. These later works have become anthems for the "resurrection' of the Lemko Region and have been set to music and performed by the leading Lemko folk ensembles. Following are some of these very popular woks.
Lemkovyna (1934)
Ja rodylsja tvoim shynom - dolja moja bidna, |
I was born your son - my fate is to be poor, |
Y ljublju tja Lemkovyno, moja maty ridna! |
And I love you Lemkovyna, my native mother! |
Y chic zemlja nasha bidna, dolja nezavydna - |
And although our land is poor, nothing to desire - |
Ne zabudut moi ochy tychtch horskych nochej, |
My eyes will not forget the quiet mountain nights, |
Any serdce ne zabude, poklja zhyty bude. |
Nor will my heart forget, till the end of time. |
Tozh shanujme ridne slovo |
From the oldest to the youngest |
od velyka azh do mala |
Respect your native language |
vshytko inshe zme stratyly |
While we've lost everything else |
lem besida nam ostala. |
Only our language we've retained. |
Uchte sja, vy rusnaky |
Learn you Rusnaks, |
Jak inshy vchat sja narody |
Like other peoples learn. |
To budeme y my maty |
Then we will also have |
Svoich vchenych dakoly |
Our own scholars someday. |
Moja Otchyzna Lemkovyna zaraz |
My fatherland Lemkovyna is beyond |
za Sanom, jak za plotom |
the San River, as if on the other side of a fence |
Lem nja ne pustjat bez pashportu, |
Only they don't let me go there without a passport, |
zahorodyly bramu drotom. |
Having closed the gate with barbed wire. |
Teper na Lemkivshchyni (1959)
A teper smutno, tam v Karpatach, |
And now it's sad, there in the Carpathians |
Nygde ne zvonyt v cerkvach zvon, |
The church bells never ring, |
Ne vydno tam nashoho brata, |
Our brother there is never seen, |
- any v Vysovi, |
- not in Vysova, |
- any v Labovi, |
- not in Labova, |
Vshytyk von! |
Everything is gone! |
Narod Voskres / Na Lemkovyni
Na Lemkovyni, v starom kraju (122) |
In the Lemko Region, in the old country |
Shumjat smereky y jalycy - |
Murmur the evergreens and fir trees - |
Pobidnu pisnju ony hrajut |
A victorious song they play |
Ot Uzhhoroda so Shchavnycy: |
From Uzhhorod to Szczawnica: |
Bo y v Karpatach dnes |
For in the Carpathians today |
Narod voskres! |
The people resurrect! |
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Y hremyt chor Karpatskych hor, |
And the choir roars of the Carpathian hills, |
V daleku dal' - - het plyne -- |
In a far off place -- [the news] carried afar -- |
V Karpatach dnes narod voskres |
In the Carpathians today the people resurrect |
Y pravo jeho ne zhyne |
And their right will not be taken away. |
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Mohuchyj chor Karpatskych hor, |
The mighty choir of the Carpathian hills, |
Naj viter nese vo vsi strany -- |
Let the wind blow to all corners -- |
Naj pryde chas -- naj uzh y v nas |
Let the time come -- and now for us |
Zdoptana pravda vstane! |
The forgotten truth rises up! |
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Na Lemkovyni y Talerhofi |
In the Lemko Region and Talerhof |
Nevynna krov' proljata -- |
Innocent blood was shed -- |
Naj v nashych serdcach na vse ostane |
Let it all remain in our hearts |
Pamjatka -- vichna y svjata! |
The memorial - eternal and holy! |