The great heart of Belarus awakens
To greet this new day.
Her face shines brightly
Against centuries of subjection
To ill-fitting lowness.
She rises proudly, casts off
Her tattered prisoner’s garment
Worn threadbare by generations of toil.
She washes her face, cleans her feet
Rinses from her hands
The grit and grime of oppression.
This morning she knows—
Liberty awaits her in the open air.
This morning she feels again—
Magnificent she stands
Clothed in white,
Arrayed in innocence
The kind of purity of heart
That repels bullets
And disarms men.
Men begin to join her—
Drawn forth by grace under pressure,
Her soul, keeper of refiner’s fire,
Love’s inviolable flame.
It is done--
Peace be unto her again
That she may feel as she once did,
That she may walk with head held high
And not be beaten back into the shadows.
Awake! Arise, fair Belarus. Awake! Arise!

Belarus, we are with you. ❤️

Photograph Radio Free Europe.