Love, Ukrainian Style: The Best Love Poems by Ukrainian Poets

This article was prepared with the support of UFL flower delivery. Love makes us stronger and braver, but also more vulnerable, more naive and sometimes a little mad. The writer Hryhir Tiutiunnyk said that if you have never wanted to embrace the whole world and kiss a leaf torn off by the wind, you have not yet loved. Ukrainian literature is steeped in this theme: in its poems love is happy and quiet, unrequited and tragic, but always sincere.

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Love in Ukrainian poetry, from the Romantics to today

The romance "Dark Eyes" (Ochi chornye), sung all over the world, is based on a poem by the Ukrainian poet Yevhen Hrebinka (1843). Ivan Franko devoted his collection Withered Leaves (1896), one of the peaks of Ukrainian intimate lyric poetry, to unhappy love. Lesya Ukrainka wrote The Forest Song, a fairy-tale drama about the love between a forest nymph and a man, and Oleksandr Oles published the lyric collection Joy Embraced Sorrow (1907).

5 famous Ukrainian love poems

Volodymyr Sosiura: "No One Has Ever Loved Like This"

One of the most recognisable love poems of the 20th century (1922). The speaker is sure such love comes once in a thousand years and is ready to pluck the constellation Orion from the sky for his beloved. Spring, the stars and the moon witness his feelings.

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Pavlo Tychyna: "I Said Only One Word to You"

A short, musical poem about a first declaration: a single word is enough for the whole world to answer with ringing sunshine, laughing groves and cherry blossom. It shows Tychyna's typical "clarinet" imagery, in which feeling sounds like music.

Lina Kostenko: "Stop Me, Come to Your Senses"

A poem about a love that happens only once in a lifetime: the speaker knows the feeling may shatter her peace, yet she can no longer stop. Kostenko is one of the most quoted Ukrainian poets, and her collections deserve a place on any bookshelf.

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Vasyl Symonenko: "She Came"

Love arrives suddenly, as if from youthful dreams, and the speaker cannot help but follow it. A simple and very warm poem by one of the poets of the 1960s, often read at school evenings.

Vasyl Chumak: "I Love. I Cherish. I Embrace…"

A passionate miniature by a young poet (1901–1919) who was killed at 18. Spring, the intoxicating drink of love and autumn leaves become an image of how quickly happiness passes.

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The Ukrainian texts of these poems are easy to find in collections and on Ukrainian library websites. They sound best read aloud, so read one to the person you love.

Love songs

A musical declaration is another lovely idea. The classic is "Chervona Ruta" by Volodymyr Ivasiuk (1968); modern hits include "Obiimy" and "Bez boiu" by Okean Elzy and "Vakhteram" by Boombox. Songs like these set the mood for a romantic evening or make an original valentine.

How to give poetry with flowers

• Copy a few lines of a favourite poem by hand onto the card that comes with the bouquet.
• Give a poetry collection with a bookmark at the right page and a single rose.
• Choose flowers with meaning: red roses for passion, tulips for a declaration, guelder rose for Ukrainian love and faithfulness. Read more in our guide to the language of flowers.

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FAQ

What is the most famous Ukrainian love poem?

Sosiura's "No One Has Ever Loved Like This" and Franko's cycle Withered Leaves are named most often.

Which contemporary poets write about love?

Lina Kostenko, Serhiy Zhadan, Yuri Andrukhovych, Yuliya Musakovska and Kateryna Babkina.

Read also about the main Ukrainian flowers. And order a bouquet for your declaration with flower delivery in Kyiv from UFL.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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