Dumka
Clarence Augustus Manning translation
Water flows into the blue sea, But it never leaves it. A young Kozak seeks his fortune, Seeks, but does not find it. He has gone where chance has beckoned, Where the sea is playing, And his Kozak heart is playing, But his thoughts arouse him: “Where have you not gone, a stranger? To what hands entrusting Father and your aged mother And your smiling sweetheart? People there are not your family, Life with them is very hard. With them there you cannot weep, Cannot freely talk.” Far from home the Kozak’s sitting, While the sea is playing, Thinking, he will find good fortune But he meets with sorrow. And the cranes hie homeward swiftly In their ordered row. Weeps the Kozak,—on life’s pathway Piercing thorns have grown.