Edge and I sent the above reading and piano piece to President Zelenskyy (who we met before he was President) in the days after Russia invaded Ukraine. The poem is by Taras Shevchenko - the great 19th century poet - who defined ‘Ukrainian-ness’ for so many. All who believe in freedom and sense the jeopardy we Europeans now find ourselves in are not sleeping easily on this, the third anniversary of the invasion. More to say about this and other bewilderments later. - Bono —— My Friendly Epistle by Taras Shevchenko  To the Dead, the Living, and to Those Yet Unborn, My Countrymen all Who Live in Ukraine and Outside Ukraine,  If a man say, I Love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar, 1 John iv. 20  Day dawns, then comes the twilight grey, The limit of the live-long day; For weary people sleep seems best And all God’s creatures go to rest. I, only, grieve like one accursed, Through all the hours both last and first, Sad at the crossroads, day and night, With no one there to see my plight; No one can see me, no one knows me; All men are deaf, no ears disclose me; Men stand and trade their mutual chains And barter truth for filthy gains, Committing shame against the Lord By harnessing for black reward People in yokes and sowing evil In fields commissioned by the Devil… And what will sprout? You soon will see What kind of harvest there will be! Come to your senses, ruthless ones, O stupid children, Folly’s sons! And bring that peaceftil paradise, Your own Ukraine, before your eyes; Then let your heart, in love sincere, Embrace her mighty ruin here! Break then your chains, in love unite, Nor seek in foreign lands the sight Of things not even found above, Still less in lands that strangers love… Then in your own house you will see True justice, strength, and liberty! Then in your own house you will see True justice, strength, and liberty!

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