Contra Spem Spero Framed Poster — Lesya Ukrainka

"Without hope, I hope." Lesya Ukrainka wrote Contra spem spero in 1890, at nineteen and already ill — and turned her own failing health into the most defiant poem in the Ukrainian language. Sow flowers on the frost, she says; water them with bitter tears; live anyway. More than a century later it is a poem a whole country reaches for.

This framed poster sets the complete poem in the original Ukrainian beside an English translation, in blue and gold, with a single stem forcing its way up out of hard ground — bright against the dark. A quiet, resolute piece for a study, a reading nook, or anywhere that could use a little stubborn hope.

The design: the full four stanzas, Ukrainian and English side by side, under the Latin title Contra spem spero and the poet's name. Printed and framed ready to hang.

NZ$5 from every order in our Poems for Ukraine collection goes to Ukraine relief, via Kiwi K.A.R.E., a New Zealand charity delivering aid and ambulances in Ukraine.

Framed poster: printed on archival poster paper in a slim moulding with a shatterproof plexiglass front and a hanging bracket fitted — arrives ready to put on the wall. Full size range shown in the options above.

Made to order: we print and frame each poster when you order, so nothing sits in a warehouse. Please allow a few business days to make and dispatch, then standard delivery to your country. Ships worldwide.

Care: wipe the front gently with a dry, soft cloth. Keep out of direct sunlight to preserve the colours.

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: Generic brand, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Care instructions: If the poster does gather any dust, you may wipe it off gently with a clean, dry cloth.