Written for the people of Ukraine in 1997 after learning of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. This painting, made up of the words in the poem, has been a permanent part of the Chernobyl Museum since 1999.
Uprooted ©Launa Stan (Learn more here)
If a man’s thoughts dye his soul
What kind of stain do his deeds leave?
A hazardous spill on himself and the laps of others
Who share the same air
Breathing in and out, in and out
Now there’s bitterness that abounds
In the bread basket of the north
Uprooted family trees with forgotten people
In yellowed photos dangling down
Wooden cradles set ablaze in the forest
Where blue light sprang from place to place
Luminescent-Deadly beautiful
Reminiscent of sparklers
Crackling at a May Day parade
The rain has become hot tears pouring down
Falling down, dropping to the earth
The fragmented rivulets on a musical score
Splash on these paper lives, fragile and all too brief
The muffled sobbing is a melody
But only to the ears of Him unseen
It’s an aria of the heart that sings a Capella
The high pitched notes of pain
Yet, he who suffers much speaks a wordless language
That can be understood, although the tongue is mute
It transcends dialects, country lines
And political ideologies…Uprooted, but not alone
I have seen lives irrevocably changed
In one moment in time
From one thoughtless choice, a careless decision
Leaving ancient villages empty
Doors left swinging on squeaky hinges
For all eternity plus seven years more
And the plastic dolls of stolen youth
Sit on dust covered window panes
Vacantly staring at the loss…Uprooted but not alone
Heartbreak and tragedy
Are no respecters of persons, tradition, religion or plans
It is blinded by skin color
And the coins in ones purse
I have been told that fear is like rust
That eats away hope, little by little
Corroding all confidence
This invisible acid obliterates desire
Until we are mere shells with nothing left inside…
Uprooted but not alone
But now I believe that love is a salve
To be spread over the wound to heal and soothe
Able to mend the innermost places
That are hidden from man
Faith causes that page to turn
Just because today’s sunshine is blocked by the clouds
Doesn’t mean the sun is gone
If God seems silent
It doesn’t mean He has left us
Or doesn’t hear our cries
Perhaps, we are the ones who are not listening
To the voice that is gentle and low
Tender and always near
We must be quiet and still
He is here, and anxious to woo us to Him
Like a lover
He will be revealed once more…Uprooted but not alone
There is a day that dawns on all of our broken lives
That we are able to see clearly
If we look with unjaded eyes
We can see that we are all people with ruined dreams
With unrealized plans
Yet, somehow they can fit perfectly
Into His bigger picture
And be breathtakingly beautiful-in time
We can be uprooted but not alone
From these strange ashes-HOPE will arise!