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Collage featuring Taras Shevchenko statue and bouquet of flowers; Annex of Phillips Collection; Suzanne and me in front of Ghandi statue.
Collage featuring Taras Shevchenko statue and bouquet of flowers; Annex of Phillips Collection; Suzanne and me in front of Ghandi statue. Washington is turning green. Well, it IS St. Patrick's Day. We're all Irish today, and it feels right! Every bar in DC is celebrating. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Spring is coming to Washington, so I imagine it unfolding in Ukraine. The trees are budding, the bushes leafing, the forsythia popping, the daffodils blooming, the cherry blossoms are blushing pink. I see what is here and now, and I think Ukraine. It will be like this for the rest of my life, I think, maybe especially in Spring, so welcome after a long hard winter. It was exciting to see the daffodils along Panfelova and the paths into town,the apricot trees in Luba’s yard, the tulips around the university, the Kaston (chestnut trees) in Lenin park, the iris and lilacs everywhere, in profusion. A palette of yellow, purples, lavender, and pink.
On Saturday I walked to the Philips Collection, a favorite art museum, to meet my friend Suzanne, enjoying the fresh air, savoring Spring. We toured the museum, saw an exhibit of works by David Smith, a favorite sculptor, and posed in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi across the street. We had lunch and talked politics, just like old times.
On my way back to the hotel I saw another beautiful statue and was moved by some unknown energy to take a closer look. There on the corner of P Street and Massachusetts NW stood Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian poet! That elegant statue has always been there, but this is the first time I really saw it, the first time it spoke to me. A love of everything Ukraine enveloped me, like it did Shevchenko, and I felt a love for that country that has been my home for two years. A fresh bouquet of flowers adorned the base of the statue, a gift from the Embassy of Ukraine. Shevchenko looked approvingly at the blue and yellow bouquet that symbolized Ukrainian culture and history, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Springtime Washington. Springtime Ukraine. The connection’s never been so strong, so beautiful!
On Saturday I walked to the Philips Collection, a favorite art museum, to meet my friend Suzanne, enjoying the fresh air, savoring Spring. We toured the museum, saw an exhibit of works by David Smith, a favorite sculptor, and posed in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi across the street. We had lunch and talked politics, just like old times.
On my way back to the hotel I saw another beautiful statue and was moved by some unknown energy to take a closer look. There on the corner of P Street and Massachusetts NW stood Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian poet! That elegant statue has always been there, but this is the first time I really saw it, the first time it spoke to me. A love of everything Ukraine enveloped me, like it did Shevchenko, and I felt a love for that country that has been my home for two years. A fresh bouquet of flowers adorned the base of the statue, a gift from the Embassy of Ukraine. Shevchenko looked approvingly at the blue and yellow bouquet that symbolized Ukrainian culture and history, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Springtime Washington. Springtime Ukraine. The connection’s never been so strong, so beautiful!
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