Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!

Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan! (Romanian: Ridică-te Gheorghe, ridică-te Ioane!) is a poem by Radu Gyr. In 1958 Radu Gyr was imprisoned and sentenced to death (commuted to life sentences and pardoned a few years later) by the Communist authorities because of his subversive poem. The poem had asked for peasants to oppose in every way the regime's agricultural policies: it had been issued as the last wave of brutal collectivization was taking hold of the rural landscape. While in prison, he was not treated for any illnesses he had, was often starved, and even tortured.[1]

Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!
by Radu Gyr
Original titleRidică-te Gheorghe, ridică-te Ioane!
CountryRomania
LanguageRomanian

It is still a very controversial issue in Romania.[2]

Nu pentru-o lopată de rumenă pâine,
nu pentru pătule, nu pentru pogoane,
ci pentru văzduhul tău liber de mâine,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

Pentru sângele neamului tău curs prin şanţuri,
pentru cântecul tău ţintuit în piroane,
pentru lacrima soarelui tău pus în lanţuri,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

Nu pentru mânia scrâşnită-n măsele,
ci ca să aduni chiuind pe tăpşane
o claie de zări şi-o căciulă de stele,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

Aşa, ca să bei libertatea din ciuturi
şi-n ea să te-afunzi ca un cer în bulboane
şi zarzării ei peste tine să-i scuturi,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

Şi ca să pui tot sărutul fierbinte
pe praguri, pe prispe, pe uşi, pe icoane,
pe toate ce slobode-ţi ies înainte,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

Ridică-te, Gheorghe, pe lanţuri, pe funii!
Ridică-te, Ioane, pe sfinte ciolane!
Şi sus, spre lumina din urmă-a furtunii,
ridică-te, Gheorghe, ridică-te, Ioane!

It is not for the sake of a bread on your table,
it is neither for pastures and nor for the stock,
it is rather for living a peace which is stable:
arise brother George, arise brother John!

For the sake of your kinsmen who died in the ditches
for the hymns that you sang as you stood in the dock
for the tears of the heavens, as you pained in the shackles
arise brother George, arise brother John!

It is not for the anger resounding your body
it’s instead for the sake of your cry to the world,
for the distant horizons with a brimful of planets,
arise brother George, arise brother John!

If you wish to regain all the ancestral freedoms,
through the heavenly gates your admission to gain,
break to pieces the shackles which are cutting your body,
arise brother George, arise brother John!

As prostrate you may wish once again to embrace
all that’s left from the blaze of your family’s hearth
they all gently come back to take hold of your soul
arise brother George, arise brother John!

Arise brother George, by freeing your shackles!
Arise brother John, back again on your bones!
Alight to the Heavens, the tempest abated,
arise brother George, arise brother John!

References
  1. Seiche, Fabian. Martiri si marturisitori romani din secolul XX. Inchisorile comuniste din Romania ("Romanian Martyrs and Witnesses of the Twentieth Century. Communist Prisons in Romania").Editura Agaton, Făgăraş, Romania, 200.
  2. Evenimentul Zilei, Mihail Neamțu, acuzat de ANTISEMITISM. ARD se delimitează de declarațiile acestuia
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.