Carpatho-Rusyns

 

Ethnic Carpatho-Rusyn Homelands

 

 

ethnic culture
a stepchild of history
never possessed
of a country
ever tenants
of political tenements
landlords revolve
wearing crowns
shined by fortunes of war

Trans-Carpathian Slavs
good peasant stock rooted
in shadows of mountains
linguistic ghettoes
comprising their tenuous
range of identity
smack in the high
stony heart verging
modern Europa

orthodox Christian faith
fractured for want of
annealing effects
of a secular power
dividing themselves
among sects of the
Byzantine Grecian
and Romanish rites

a people connected
by blood and biography
shared in the handwork
of hardscrabble hectares
the struggles of centuries
people who nonetheless
own a soft soul
a wide open heart
and a great zest for life

a people I dearly admire
whose spirit I’ve basked in
whose churches I’ve prayed in
whose laughter I’ve shared in
whose affection I’ve enjoyed
whose food I have eaten
whose vodka has warmed me
whose daughter
I’ve had the great privilege
to take as my bride

 

 

From my book Onionskin