Utvinsk. From the Russian. Utvinsk. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. 1876-79. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes. Russia: Vol. XX

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Russia: Vol. XX. 1876–79.

Utvinsk

From the Russian


Translated by W. R. S. Ralston BEYOND the famous river Utva,
Among the Utvinsk hills,
In a wide valley,
A cornfield was ploughed.
Not with the plough was the field ploughed,	5
But with keen Tartar spears.
Not with a harrow was the field harrowed,
But with swift feet of horses.
Not with rye, nor with wheat, was the field sown,
But that cornfield was sown	10
With bold Cossack heads.
Not with rain was it moistened,
Not with strong autumn showers;
That field was moistened
With burning Cossack tears.	15