צוקעניש פֿלעגט אונדז באַפֿאַלן,
An ache would seize us,
Work 207 of 440
Page 251. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Tsu' (To) conclusion and new poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields) beginning. 'Tsu' concludes: The ache of the crying infants in the cradle — 'choking of throat, pinching of lips' — then the father's figure bows, touches their mouths with his, 'and the ache becomes sweet.' 'Our both's father, Death — my brother.' The wise don't see 'how beautiful you are, how blond, how tall, and that you are only thirty-five years like me.' Death as the speaker's twin, same age, sharing parents, beauty, and youth. New poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields): 'Abundant fields; rough fields; not plowed and not reaped.' By day, 'the fields are silent in brightness, hairy and hump-backed, tired and old and dry.' A person — 'it seems it is I' — walks by the fields, 'hears the smell of oldness — oldness of earth, oldness of all on earth, oldness of all in earth.' The landscape as body, ancient and weary.
צוקעניש פֿלעגט אונדז באַפֿאַלן,
ווערגעניש פֿון האַלדז,
קלעמעניש פֿון ליפּן:
מיטאַמאָל פֿאַרנייגט זיך די פֿיגור,
רירט זיך צו צו אונדזער מויל מיט זײַנעם —
און דאָס צוקעניש ווערט זיס,
און דאָס קלעמעניש ווערט זיס. —
אונדזער ביידנס טאַטע,
טויט — ברודער מײַנער,
אונדזער ביידנס טאַטע.
קלוגע מענטשן, הער איך, ריידן וועגן דיר,
טויט — צווילינגס־ברודער מײַנער:
און זיי זעען ניט דורך זייער חכמה,
ווי שיין דו ביסט,
ווי בלאָנד,
ווי הויך,
און אַז דיר איז ערשט אינגאַנצן פֿינף און דרײַסיק יאָר ווי מיר —
טויט — ברודער מײַנער.
אַלטע פֿעלדער
…שופֿעדיקע פֿעלדער;
האַרביקע פֿעלדער;
ניט געאַקערטע
און ניט געשניטענע
ווערן צעשלאָגן אָן וואַלדיקע ווענט.
בײַטאָג, ווען די זון איז פֿײַערדיק,
שטומען די פֿעלדער אין ליכטיקייט,
האָריק און הויקערדיק,
מיד און אַלט און טרוקן.
אַ מענטש — זאָל דוכטן אַז איך —
גייט בײַ דער זײַט פֿון די פֿעלדער,
גייט און הערט דעם ריח פֿון אַלטקייט,
אַלטקייט פֿון ערד
און אַלטקייט פֿון אַלץ, וואָס אויף ערד,
און אַלטקייט פֿון אַלץ וואָס אין ערד.
Tsukenish flegt undz bafaln,
vergenish fun haldz,
klemenish fun lipn:
mitamol farneygt zikh di figur,
rirt zikh tsu tsu undzer moyl mit zaynem —
un dos tsukenish vert zis,
un dos klemenish vert zis. —
Undzer beydns tate,
toyt — bruder mayner,
undzer beydns tate.
Kluge mentshn, her ikh, reydn vegn dir,
toyt — tsvilings-bruder mayner:
un zey zeen nit durkh zeyer khokhme,
vi sheyn du bist,
vi blond,
vi hoykh,
un az dir iz ersht ingantsn finf un draysik yor vi mir —
toyt — bruder mayner.
Alte felder
…Shufedike felder;
harbike felder;
nit geakerte
un nit geshnіtene
vern tseshlоgn on valdike vent.
Baytog, ven di zun iz fayerdik,
shtumen di felder in likhtikeyt,
horik un hoykerdik,
mid un alt un trukn.
A mentsh — zol dukhtn az ikh —
geyt bay der zayt fun di felder,
geyt un hert dem reyakh fun altkeyt,
altkeyt fun erd
un altkeyt fun alts, vos oyf erd,
un altkeyt fun alts vos in erd.
An ache would seize us,
choking of the throat,
pinching of the lips:
suddenly the figure bows,
touches our mouth with his —
and the ache becomes sweet,
and the pinching becomes sweet. —
Our both's father,
Death — my brother,
our both's father.
Wise people, I hear, speak about you,
Death — my twin-brother:
and they don't see through their wisdom,
how beautiful you are,
how blond,
how tall,
and that you are only just thirty-five years like me —
Death — my brother.
Old Fields
…Abundant fields;
rough fields;
not plowed
and not reaped
become shattered without forest-walls.
By day, when the sun is fiery,
the fields are silent in brightness,
hairy and hump-backed,
tired and old and dry.
A person — it seems it is I —
walks by the side of the fields,
walks and hears the smell of oldness,
oldness of earth
and oldness of all that is on earth,
and oldness of all that is in earth.
Page 251. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Tsu' (To) conclusion and new poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields) beginning. 'Tsu' concludes: The ache of the crying infants in the cradle — 'choking of throat, pinching of lips' — then the father's figure bows, touches their mouths with his, 'and the ache becomes sweet.' 'Our both's father, Death — my brother.' The wise don't see 'how beautiful you are, how blond, how tall, and that you are only thirty-five years like me.' Death as the speaker's twin, same age, sharing parents, beauty, and youth. New poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields): 'Abundant fields; rough fields; not plowed and not reaped.' By day, 'the fields are silent in brightness, hairy and hump-backed, tired and old and dry.' A person — 'it seems it is I' — walks by the fields, 'hears the smell of oldness — oldness of earth, oldness of all on earth, oldness of all in earth.' The landscape as body, ancient and weary.
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