Lightning over Vilnius

This book is a gift to the ancient and eternally young Vilnius for its 700th anniversary from us, the people of Vilnius: Belarusians, Lithuanians, Poles. The idea of this trilingual poetry collection belonged to Alma Lapinsken, a doctor of humanitarian sciences, who has been a tireless translator from Belarusian to Lithuanian for 40 years and a diligent worker in the field of Belarusian-Lithuanian relations. The wonderful translations of my poems into the Lithuanian language also belong to my pen. Thank you very much, dear Alma! The Poles of Vilnius were not left out either – one of the oldest and most famous poets of the Vilnius Region, Alexander Snezhka, not only elegantly and creatively translated poems from Belarusian into Polish, but also helped with practical issues of designing and publishing the collection. A low bow and sincere thanks for this, Mr. Alexander! The fate of Vilnius during these 700 years has never been simple and easy – from time to time clouds gathered over it, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, blizzards raged. But as long as we, Vilenchuks, stick together – we will not be broken!