I was born in the land where the Nemunas meanders,
Where amber is cast by the sea on the sand,
In the land where the wind comes to fall into slumbers
And a languorous wave faints away on the strand.
Over pinewood and field to the far hills extending,
Just like flowering flax spreads the blue of her skies.
Unforgettable colours and odours are blending
As a day of good cheer slowly closes its eyes.
I shall never forget summer nights in the country
Live with whispering dewdrops on flowers and trees,
Copper groves in the mist stripping of their leaves gently
And huge carpets of silver when pasturelands freeze.
How I love the pure note of a lark in the morning
Ringing out from high heaven and rousing the field!
How I love the deep snowdrift, the frost pattern forming
On the lake or at dawn on the windows revealed!
How I long for an orchard with boughs intertwining
And for maple-leaf clippings adrift on a pond,
For the sound of a scythe, its loud swishing and whining,
For the spring all in green and for autumn all blond.
Most of all, my dear people, to you am I clinging:
In my ears Lithuanian phrases resound.
With your wonderful songs in my heart ever ringing,
Now I see you again springing up from the ground.
Cruel waves in the past often brought you misfortunes,
Your worn eyes are like shell-craters glaring with pain,
By a great many foes you were raided and tortured,
Yet I know that my love for you never shall wane.
I am yours heart and soul, my dear homeland, forever.
Being your flesh and blood I don’t seek a retreat.
We have grown root and branch: who can us now dissever?
We shall fight and shall see the invader’s defeat.
(Antanas Venclova)
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Based on Topics: Soul Poems, Nature Poems, Flowers Poems, Pain Poems, Past Poems, Spring Poems, Morning Poems, People Poems, Silver Poems, Countries Poems, Defeats PoemsBased on Keywords: meanders, invader, swishing, misfortunes, languorous, unforgettable, intertwining, snowdrift, raided, pinewood, clippings