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יאָגן און שטרויכלען און יאָגן

Chasing and stumbling and chasing

Work 210 of 440

Page 254. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Alte felder' continues. Horses 'chasing and stumbling' over field-humps, 'sinking into holes, dancing out with bloodied sticky claws.' Steel-bright bodies 'exploded from impetus, in the impetus of pleasure.' Dark. The person (perhaps the speaker) 'could have leaped onto the foaming horses, been the rider, with whip in hand lashing.' Drumming, resounding, 'cutting the wind of the manes.' Then catastrophe: 'spray from vein-tearing, temples-bursting (temples of rider) — neck-breaking (neck of rider).' The rider, 'hanged by stirrups from tails,' ignites the fields 'with sticky red.' The rider's skull becomes 'a steel ball,' swinging 'up and down' like a club, bashing into 'stone, tree, root, thorn.' The fantasy of riding becomes fatal; the rider's body destroyed, skull as weapon against the landscape.

Yiddish Original

יאָגן און שטרויכלען און יאָגן

איבער די פֿעלדיקע הויקערס,

לעכערן לעכער;

זינקען אַרײַן אין די לעכער,

טאַנצן אַרויס מיט פֿאַרבלוטיקטע קלעפּיקע קלויעס. —

אין ווירבל — די שטאָלענע גלאַנציקע לײַבער,

צעשאָסן פֿון אימפּעט, אין אימפּעט פֿון תּענוג.

פֿינצטער, פֿינצטער.

צעגאָסן אין פֿינצטערניש,

אין תּענוג פֿון פֿינצטערניש

יאָג אומצוימיקע, שוימיקע פֿערד. —

דער מענטש — זאָל דוכטן אַז איך —

וואָלט געקענט אויף די שוימיקע פֿערד זיך אַרויפֿכאַפּן.

זײַן דער רײַטער,

מיט בײַטש אין האַנט קנוטעווען.

מיט קנאַפּל אין די ריפּן

פּויקן, פּויקן.

הילכן. הילכן:

מיטן קאָפּ פֿאָראויס אויסגעשטרעקט

שנײַדן דעם ווינט פֿון די גריוועס.

בײַטש, און געפּויק, און געפֿײַף,

און —

געשפּריץ פֿון אָדער־אויפֿרײַס,

שלייפֿן־געפּלאַץ

(שלייפֿן פֿון רײַטער) —

נאַקן־געבראָך

(נאַקן פֿון רײַטער) —

און נאָכדעם, געהענקערט אין פֿעטלעס פֿון עקן

צינדן די פֿעלדער מיט קלעפּיקן רויט. —

שאַרבן פֿון רײַטער — אַ שטאָלענער קוגל,

אַרויף און אַראָפּ,

אַרויף און אַראָפּ,

ווי אַ צעוויגטע דובינע —

זעץ זעץ זעץ

געלעכערט — צעלעכערט,

געבויערט — צעבויערט

שטיין, בוים,

וואָרצל, דאָרן —

Transliteration

Yogn un shtrоykhlen un yogn

iber di feldike hoykers,

lekhern lekher;

zinken arayn in di lekher,

tantsn aroys mit farblutikte klepike kloyes. —

In virbl — di shtоlene glantsike layber,

tseshоsn fun impet, in impet fun tayneg.

Fintster, fintster.

Tsegоsn in fintsternish,

in tayneg fun fintsternish

yog umtsoymike, shoymike ferd. —

Der mentsh — zol dukhtn az ikh —

volt gekent oyf di shoymike ferd zikh aroyfkhapn.

Zayn der rayter,

mit baytsh in hant knuteven.

Mit knapl in di ripn

poykn, poykn.

Hilkhn. Hilkhn:

mitn kop foroys oysgeshtekt

shnaydn dem vint fun di grives.

Baytsh, un gepoyk, un gefayf,

un —

geshprits fun оder-oyfrays,

shlayfn-geplats

(shlayfn fun rayter) —

nakn-gebrokh

(nakn fun rayter) —

un nokh dem, gehenkert in fetles fun ekn

tsindn di felder mit klepikn royt. —

Sharbn fun rayter — a shtоlener kugl,

aroyf un arоp,

aroyf un arоp,

vi a tsevigte dubine —

zets zets zets

gelekert — tselekert,

geboyert — tseboyert

shteyn, boym,

vоrtsl, dоrn —

English Translation

Chasing and stumbling and chasing

over the field-humps,

holing holes;

sinking into the holes,

dancing out with bloodied sticky claws. —

In a whirl — the steel-bright bodies,

exploded from impetus, in the impetus of pleasure.

Dark, dark.

Poured out in darkness,

in the pleasure of darkness

chase unbridled, foaming horses. —

The person — it seems it is I —

could have leaped onto the foaming horses.

Been the rider,

with whip in hand lashing.

With knob in the ribs

drumming, drumming.

Resounding. Resounding:

with head forward outstretched

cutting the wind of the manes.

Whip, and drumming, and whistling,

and —

spray from vein-tearing,

temples-bursting

(temples of rider) —

neck-breaking

(neck of rider) —

and afterward, hanged by stirrups from tails

igniting the fields with sticky red. —

Skull of rider — a steel ball,

up and down,

up and down,

like a swinging club —

bash bash bash

holed — un-holed,

drilled — un-drilled

stone, tree,

root, thorn —

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

Page 254. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Alte felder' continues. Horses 'chasing and stumbling' over field-humps, 'sinking into holes, dancing out with bloodied sticky claws.' Steel-bright bodies 'exploded from impetus, in the impetus of pleasure.' Dark. The person (perhaps the speaker) 'could have leaped onto the foaming horses, been the rider, with whip in hand lashing.' Drumming, resounding, 'cutting the wind of the manes.' Then catastrophe: 'spray from vein-tearing, temples-bursting (temples of rider) — neck-breaking (neck of rider).' The rider, 'hanged by stirrups from tails,' ignites the fields 'with sticky red.' The rider's skull becomes 'a steel ball,' swinging 'up and down' like a club, bashing into 'stone, tree, root, thorn.' The fantasy of riding becomes fatal; the rider's body destroyed, skull as weapon against the landscape.

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Chasing and stumbling and chasing · H. Leivick: Complete Works · Half-Voll Attempts