14.

Core message The speaker is a young man (or Cossack) burning with desire to reach his “Мила” (his beloved/dear one). He addresses his horse with frantic commands (“Тікай коню, бігай коню” – “Flee, horse, run, horse”), because she is already waiting for him at the edge of the forest at dawn. Despite physical distance and literal darkness, her image shines in his mind “як сонце” (like the sun). The poem captures that electric moment when love overrides every obstacle – time, space, night itself.

Main themes

1. Separation vs. nearness – The central contrast in verse 7 (“Одна гора висока… Одна Мила далекая, а друга близка”) uses mountains as a metaphor for two possible beloveds or two emotional realities: one far away (idealized, almost unreachable) and one close by. The speaker feels the pull of both, yet the urgent tone shows his heart is fixed on the one he is racing toward.
2. The beloved as light in darkness – Even when “як темно” (how dark it is) and nothing can be seen, she appears radiant through the window. This is a common folk motif: the woman as the source of hope, warmth, and illumination when the world is cold and obscure.
3. Nature and journey – Typical of Ukrainian folk songs, the landscape (forest dawn, high/low mountains, pasture) is not just scenery; it mirrors the lover’s inner state. The horse, the road, the distant and near horizons all become symbols of the lover’s restless quest.
4. Pastoral/erotic tension – The unfinished verse 8 (“Ви у тої далекої / Воли таї корови / А в цеї близенкої…”) hints at a practical, earthy contrast between the two women’s households (cattle = wealth, stability, rural life). It subtly raises the question of material comfort versus passionate love.

Overall, this short fragment pulses with the classic folk-song energy of youthful passion, impatience, and idealised love – the same emotional world found throughout the entire notebook. It’s less about philosophical reflection and more about raw feeling: “I see her, I need her, I’m coming right now.”