An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature/Victorious Retreat

←

Peking

An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature (1929)
translated by Paul Selver

Victorious Retreat by Miloš Jirko

The Pillar-Box

→

related portals: Czech literature

Miloš Jirko4867411An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature — Victorious Retreat1929Paul Selver

MILOŠ JIRKO

(b. 1900)

Victorious Retreat

I AND all others,
journeying here in an unclean cattle-truck,
We,
All belonging to the shattered host,
We are not retreating.
We are advancing.

I, student and poet, born in the year nineteen hundred,
And also a soldier,—of the heavy, heavy guns,—
The Bosnian who treats us to raki,
The workman from Vienna slums,
The Pole, with whom I talk in the goodly language,
Bringing to my lips the savour of sweet fruits,
The Ruthene student from Kolomea,
The Magyar who boasts of his pig-breeding,
The pale youth from Prague
And the farmer from Hana,
We,
We all,
We are not retreating,
We are advancing.

We who are escaping from the broken front,
We who are escaping from thraldom of dwellings in decay,
We who are escaping from bursting armament works,
From the black captivity, as the grave’s unknown prey,
All we simple folk,
With human hearts,
With human voices,
With human hands,
Alive,
We are not retreating,
We are advancing.

We are all the watch and ward of the great host,
The host of life’s potencies.

We shall implant out banner upon fertile acres,
Victoriously it will exult above the din of factories,
Above palaces and strongholds,
Above abodes of goodness and mercy.

Joyous fluttering of bannerets in the festive morning!
Fleeting leap of the young wind!

Ships will sail forth under our flag;—
Everywhere,
In valleys, on mountains,
Upon rock and glebe,
Amid tropics and ice,
Everywhere we shall implant our flag,
We,
We, who are advancing.
The Journey (1920)

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1961, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 63 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1970, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse