Tadeusz S. Roy-Rojewski ‘s “Surge Polonia” poem
by 3 participants to the Airborne International Youth Conference at the end of the wreathlaying
Polish David Polański
English Brianna Horton (Canada)
Dutch Marjolijn Hulsbos
SURGE POLONIA!
Endless fields framed by a misty plain,
The oval spine of the bridge’s span couples the horizon,
A river flying freely cuts the boundary —
Oblivious that its liberty will be a fault,
That taming it will be desired, sentries established,
“Wacht am Rhein” shall scream beguiled falsehoods,
Masters of tainted battles, always within foreign thresholds,
They shall break the arms of the cross, wounding the Lord —
Until the judges gather and stand them before court,
And have them seek grace on the roads of penance.
Arnhem connects both geography and history,
Its expression is heavy with consequence and a road sign,
Its expansive fields provide a backdrop to the landscape,
Of cemeteries that are so nobly decorated.
In Holland, the guard is somewhat different,
Where the young lay flowers on the graves each year,
Where they maintain the memory of that jump,
Which brought freedom to Europe, and that stubborn call:
SURGE POLONIA!
Those children, their youth, those heartfelt blossoms,
This is a living heritage, incomprehensible wealth:
Children bright in simplicity, not knights in their glory,
Hold the passage to the Rhine, a bridge for history.