A captivating book titled "These Lines Were Forged with Heart" reveals the poignant poetry of a local legend, now gone but not forgotten. His verses on love, nature, and the human experie...

On the shelf of one of the local newspaper offices, a book titled "These Lines Were Forged by Heart" caught my attention. Upon picking it up, I read the author's name on the cover: local poet Vladimir Krakovsky, who, unfortunately, is no longer with us today. However, his poignant and unforgettable works about love for his homeland, women, and our lesser brothers remain. The author is primarily known among his colleagues in the field and journalists, but it would be wonderful if more people could learn about his creativity.

I was surprised that I had never heard of this collection of poems before. As it turns out, its presentation took place several years ago in a rather intimate setting – at the literary club named after Galina Chibitko. In fact, it was thanks to him that this book came to life. Unfortunately, sometimes good printed editions remain unnoticed by the reading audience, yet they deserve more recognition. Today, I would like to share information about this book and its author.

This publication is the second in line and includes the complete archive of the poet. His first small collection of poems, "I Survived with You and with Verses," was released in 2006 and was dedicated to love. The new book contains over 200 works of varying lengths, beautifully illustrated by Taraz artist Vladimir Khudyakov, and is conditionally divided into several thematic blocks. Some of these poems were published in the 1970s and 1980s alongside works by other poets in the regional newspaper "Znamya Truda," and later in the almanac "Oasis."

In his lines, Vladimir Krakovsky sang the beauty and tenderness of women, referring to them as "dream," "beloved," "dear," "incomparable," "unique," "native," "unforgettable," "golden," and even "divine." Yet, for him, she was also "both close and distant," as she was "capricious" and "willful," as well as "cunning, cruel, or simply proud." He considered himself "lost," "submissive," and "enchanted" by her gaze:

In your eyes

I would gladly drown,

And suffocate in their blueness,

This gaze has embedded itself in my soul,

Unrepeatable and dear.

In another poem, enchanted yet disappointed, he looked into her eyes again and felt powerless:

Sometimes they caress me with their blueness,

Sometimes they hurl lightning at me, point-blank…

They draw me in… And reject me,

In defiance of my soul.

In these lines, as in some others, he spoke of the fickleness of women, which made him both happy and pained. He saw her as varied – "sometimes meek, sometimes commanding, sometimes tearfully sad." His beloved was "on the brink of twilight and light," and he considered her his "joy and sorrow."

The author shared his feelings for specific representatives of the fair sex, writing about bitter farewells and joyful reunions with them, about sweet lies and forgiveness.

A separate chapter in the collection is dedicated to military poetry. Vladimir Krakovsky wrote about his father, who was a participant in the Great Patriotic War, about the Motherland that commanded soldiers to "not retreat!", about the warriors who fell defending their native land, their mothers who awaited letters from the front through sleepless nights, and about the war itself, where it mattered little who you were:

Here, all are equal, both good and evil,

A star or a cross above the head.

Here, all are dead, only

rarely the living

Will water the earth

With tears.

Also noteworthy is the section the author dedicated to his homeland. Among his poems, "My Taraz" stands out, where the poet vividly conveyed all the characteristics of the ancient city in the south of the country:

Poplar and willow,

My green-winged city.

The paradise valley of Talas,

With a semi-spring winter…

This list also includes works like "I Am Home, I Am Home!", "Pushkin in Taraz," "To the Motherland"... In the latter, he wrote:

Struck, I will fall into the grass

And embrace the earth from my heart:

I was not a foreigner to you,

By you I think and live.

The author contemplated the purpose of a poet. This is evident in his works "Poetry" and "To My Poet Friends." Delving into the lines, one realizes that an internal struggle was ongoing within him regarding what could be spoken of and what was better left unsaid. This is well conveyed, for example, in the poem "The Holy Truth of Drafts." Vladimir Krakovsky thought about life in general and his purpose in this world, bringing to public attention and placing spiritual values at the forefront. He was content with little. Only the Motherland, freedom, and daily bread mattered. The author did not aspire to material wealth. For him, the people surrounding him were more valuable, without whom the poet could not envision himself at all. This is especially well reflected in the poem "I Gathered Neither Evil nor Money." Despite this, he did not consider himself poor:

Undoubtedly, I am rich

With the sun, sky, and earth,

And with the verses that are with me,

Like people, they speak.

Stepfather's edge and kin,

With poplars under the stars!

In his verses, Vladimir Krakovsky pointed to the inescapable approach of old age. He seemed to try to grasp the slowly fading youth, capturing its breath in every moment of spring. The poet often contemplated the impending death: "I will merge with the earth, / And there’s no need to place a cross…" and "The time will come, and I will set sail. / To where it is quiet and dark."

There is an interesting section consisting of brief statements, aptly titled "Briefly." These works, like notes in the margins of a notebook, are thoughts aloud that somewhat resemble the quatrains of Omar Khayyam:

Poverty is rich in spirit –

Wealth has no soul.

Every first one, enslaved by gold,

Sold his soul for pennies.

...The author of the collection loved… tea.

– It’s hard to imagine how Volodya would write poetry without tea – his faithful companion for his unique lines. He created passionately, eagerly. When he visited me, I would immediately put the kettle on, and we could talk for hours about poetry, read verses, and just joke around, – shared memories poet and prose writer Dmitry Vaisbekker-Ivanov.

According to him, he first saw Vladimir Krakovsky in a literary café where they met. That day, both poets brought their poems about dogs. This fact sparked their interest in one another.

The book concludes with sonnets and dedications to friends and loved ones, whom the poet never forgot and cherished dearly. The warmth of his soul is still felt in the lines he wrote.

– Vladimir's poems are filled with love. He placed this feeling on par with inner freedom. Love helped him escape the everyday hustle into the depth of his emotions; it was a source of harmony and inspiration for him. Love and poetry – that is what formed the foundation of my brother’s relationship with the world, – said the author’s sister, Tatyana Belogolovykh-Krakovskaya.

As noted by Zhambyl poetess Larisa Gubasheva, Vladimir Krakovsky is one of the brightest masters of words from Taraz. She considers him a controversial author and even called him "spring autumn."

– The lyrical hero of Vladimir Krakovsky embodies youth, strength, beauty, and spring, the openness of the soul on every page and line. This childlike quality, his vivid perception, and love for the world—even if it is sometimes hostile and dangerous to him—were very appealing, overshadowing all initial impressions of his appearance and manner of speaking—somehow quietly, restrainedly