Yuliya's Poem

[Yuliya Dukhkin']

This is my ballad of Yuliya's life, from Yuliya's point of view:

Yuliya’s Poem

I was in a warm heart
An ever beating warm heart
And though I don’t remember
I still can feel it
The love I had
From a mother denied

I lived in the country
In the wild outside
Where the wind sang me lullabies
With golden fields of corn
And the great big blue sky
These were my comforts
From the moment I had them

But I was sent away
As soon as my feet could move themselves
To a cold old woman
I try to forget I know
I try not to remember
My long years with her
But through her
I made a vow that
I have kept today
To never
Love or
Marry
A man in all my life

Then I escaped
At the age of seven
To a home that
Seemed so far away
Yet so close
In my ever-longing heart
I was given
My first animal companion
By the name of Luna
My sweet sarcastic Luna

Also at that time
I made my best friend
He was one year older
But we were closer
Than the river to the earth
And I was his comfort
From a cruel harsh father
He will always be
Inside me

One year passed.
Until I was eight
A colt was born
From a fiery stallion
And a gentle mare
He was bay
And I named him Arrow
For he was faster
Than a spear delivered in flight
He grew up quickly
Big and strong
I rode him just
When he was two

Then that day happened
That one day
That always lingers
In the back of my mind
It was Okozir
My very best friend
We went riding
Far away from the tribe
Hours and hours past
As we were riding
Then something
Came sailing through the air
‘Twas a flaming arrow
That pierced my stallion
He flew to the ground
With me beneath him
He was dead
But Okozir couldn’t lift him
He ran back home
I was left to my suffering
For the first time in life
I freely sobbed
It was then
That I found my gift
For I found in my head
Arrow’s last words
The words that told me
To leave unto the world
His legacy

It was hours
Until Luna found me
And Apollo
Who had never left me since
My uncle pulled me
Out from under Arrow
My brother
Nearly challenged Okozir
To a duel
And my father
Has never been the same
The strong Ataman
Of the Spirit Horse tribe
Of the free Cossacks
The ever strong Cossacks
He’s never been the same

People grew scared of me
For I screamed in the night
They called me Screamer
But my land was my savior
I would go out into it
The plains and the wind
And then I found something more
If I really tried
I could change my form
To that of a unicorn with wings
It was the only thing
That gave me comfort

For a year
I lived in agony
When a filly was born
A fiery black filly
Who was given to me
I named her Black Jewel
She is with me to this day

And I found an orphan
A peregrine falcon
I named him Streak
For his unworldly speed
He is loyal to me

I shall be strong
And prove who I am
And in the face of danger
I will look into the face
Of someone I’ve seen before

I will make the Spirit Horse
People be proud
That I am the daughter
Of their leader
I shall always fight
For what I think is right
I will take a chance
To save the lives
Of those who need it most

And I will speak for
Those who can’t
And don’t know the
Human language
They will always be
My guardians

I hope that I can
Have a heart of courage
In what further trials
I shall have to go through
And retain the glory
Of the brave, strong, free Cossacks
For all that I have
Oh yes I will
Be free
Be strong
Be wild
Be brave
Be curious
Be happy
Be loving
Be determined
Be passionate
Be bold
Be valiant
Be true
Be all that I can
To show I’m myself