Those are the opening words of the poem, My Testament, by terrace chefchenko, the subject

of this two-part podcast special.

Take by our friend, Catcher chefchenko, the poet's words, written in 1845 in Pirea

Slav, south of Kiev, a stark, rich and beautiful.

In translation, it reads,

When I am dead, bury me in my beloved Ukraine,

My tomb upon a grave mount high amid the spreading plain,

So that the fields, the boundless steps,

The de neepers plunging shore my eyes could see,

My ears could hear the mighty river roar.

We will hear the full poem in Ukrainian at the end of today's podcast.

Our huge thanks to Catcher for her powerful reading.

I'm David Knowles, and this is Ukraine, the latest.

Over the Christmas week, we're doing things a little differently here.

Today is the first part of a special two-part podcast,

on the life and works of Ukrainian poet, writer and artist, terrace chefchenko.

When you're in Kiev, the name terrace chefchenko is almost impossible to escape,

monuments, streets, universities, bear his name.

Even the hotel, Domnickels and I stayed in,

was just a few minutes from terrace chefchenko park.

To get to the park, you travel the long terrace chefchenko boulevard,

and the terrace chefchenko museum was just across the road.

...