They Grew Up Again
Near the town of Tetri Tskaro in Georgia, you can stumble upon a mosaic stand with a faded phrase in the background:
“კიდევაც დაიზრდებიან ალგეთს ლეკვები მგლისანი.”
The sentence is clearly from some literature.
If you go from there to Marneuli, on the outskirts of the city you can see a monument — a woman with two boys holding a huge sword.
It was created in 1975 and is known to many as the “Monument to the 30th Anniversary of Victory.” But it also has an original name — the first line from the same poem — “კიდევაც დაიზრდებიან” (They will grow up again).
The poem itself is about how children will grow up and stand up to defend their land and the memory of their ancestors:
კიდევაც დაიზრდებიან
ალგეთს ლეკვები მგლისანი;
ისე არ ამოწყდებიან -
ჯავრი შესჭამონ მტრისანი.
თქვენი ჯერია, ბიჭებო,
ხელი დაიდოთ ხმალზედა,
თორემ ყორნები ძღებიან
წინაპართ ნაომარზედა.
ვაჟკაცნი, მთაში ნაზარდნი,
ომშიაც კი ნახვენ ლხინსა,
მტერსა მტრულად დახვდებიან,
მოკეთეს მოსჭამენ ჭირსა.
They will grow up again young Wolves of Algeti;
They will not be extinguished —
They will devour the enemy’s spite.
It’s your turn now, boys,
To put your hand on the sword,
Otherwise the ravens will gorge
On the war deeds of your ancestors.
Brave men, raised in the mountains,
Even in war they will find joy,
They will meet the enemy with fierce enmity,
They will share grief with their friend.
Historically, it has so happened that young Georgians grow up and defend their country. And they will grow up again.
- Algeti is a local river.
- Literary translation in my own words with the help of my friend Irakli.
#deviindetails
