My countryman, dear Lithuanian
Brought up in meadows and in leafy dales,
To lead a new life is my invitation,
A life loud with the song of radio-nightingales.
I offer you a long asphalted highway
With streetlamps to escort you through the night.
Forget all you have lost in forest byways!
New forests full of trams will hum for your delight.
Here every morning lorry and mill hooters
Such entertaining concerts shall provide,
You will no longer care who was it used to
Instil in you love for the countryside.
My countryman, dear Lithuanian!
Don’t sulk if aeroplanes you cannot hear.
Remember how the carwheel crushed your father
The day his shy horse bolted, struck with fear.
The train will teach you that in sooty tunnels
Steel windows must be raised without delay.
And when you climb a tower at the top of it
Observe well what you have to do next day.
At four p.m. tomorrow cine-radio
Intend your Heavenly Father to present.
You’ll be delighted and an Eldorado
Without a guide you’ll find within yourself.
(Juozas Tysliava)
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Based on Topics: Life Poems, Night Poems, Fear Poems, Present PoemsBased on Keywords: countryman, sulk, entertaining, aeroplanes, concerts, instil, eldorado, lorry, lithuanian, streetlamps, hooters