Volodymyr Mashika
Three songs for voice and piano Op. 17 (Lyrics: Maria Ruta)
Olena Leser - Mezzo-soprano
Olena Zhukova - Piano
__________________________________
The pride of the unbreakable.
The autumn time.
The darkness. The silence
On the right coast of Dnipro
Dawn again.
The only faith -
A hidden treasure
That darkness did not take away.
A hidden treasure
Is alive again!
A free nation
Will remain forever free.
__________________________________
It is hopeless and there is no reason to believe,
To take a step beyond the senses.
I wish to hide by your side in my mind,
To survive the state of stormy days.
Is it an illusion, or is it a holy faith,
Is there anything familiar in your wisdom?
Secret pain is my limitless power.
All of this is so impossible and fragile.
There is a thirst for freedom in your scars,
Instead of blood, steel flows in your veins.
Truth finds its way to victory,
Is it Bakhmut, or is it Azovstal.
The truth, it finds, creates, loves,
And while the heart is beating, we are fighting.
Inspiration is you, whom I long for,
A beacon to victory and struggle.
______________________________________
Freedom is unfamiliar with the shackles of slavery.
Pain is known to the one who has gone through it.
Fear, disobedience, the sea in the eyes,
He swallows his breath in the freezing nights.
Cold. Winter. Without further ado,
The body can withstand unbearable anguish.
Foreign slaughterers do not know freedom.
Home is a lantern when you are in the dark.
The recalcitrant one holds in his hands
A juicy fruit as he puckers his lips.
He already knows the taste of freedom
While washing his happiness with tears.