The Church over the Prut

We didn’t have a church in our village –
when there gathered
heavy clouds over our home,
mama made the sign of the Cross,
looking with hope
toward the church in Liveni, over the Prut:
great are You, O Lord,
let not the rock
crush us!
Then, from Liveni,
you could hear the bells ringing
and it seemed to me – I was sure –
that they were lifting up unto God
my mother’s prayer.
The sky would brighten.
The rock didn’t crush us.
Then, in childhood,
I thought that God
lived at Liveni,
over the Prut…

Vasile Romanciuc