When we still hear of Nazi atrocities,
Of mass murder and mass graves,
Then one thinks that all is lost
And your confidence declines.
One sits almost with mourning thoughts,
Fearing that it will not end well,
Then hardly anything can ease your anxiety,
That‘s when I said to myself that old saying.
I encouraged myself with new hope:
No! Poland is not yet lost.
Those old Polish optimists’ words
Improve your mood somewhat.
They will not murder you,
Even though it is their common style.
I am still relying on lucky chances,
On a deus ex machina,
And I see you escaping, surviving, without any harm
The Kraut’s death dances,
The old comforting words then ring in my ears:
No! Poland is not yet lost.
I hope that this hope will be fulfilled,
And that I will see you again,
And that the future may reveal itself,
As beautiful as it is in my imagination now,
That we will approach a new era
Free from the old chains,
And forget all that fear and all that suffering,
So today, I think: Maybe everything will be fine.
And I won’t let this spark of hope be subverted:
No! Poland is not yet lost.
Post-Editing: Robert Saunders, Hanny Veenendaal
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