טאַטע־לעגענדע
Father-Legend
Work 260 of 440
Page 315. 'Tate-Legende' (Father-Legend) begins — Leivick's elegy for his father during the 1925 Ihumen visit. Section I: The speaker addresses 'du, roytberdiker, hoytiker guf' (you, red-bearded, skin-covered body) — at the 'keyver... erdikn' (earthen grave). The son too is 'roytberdiker' (red-bearded) — the hereditary resemblance. 'Kh'bin gekumen zogn... gut-morgn' (I have come to say good morning) — the formal Jewish greeting to the dead. 'Nokh tsvantsik yor opshyd' (after twenty years of parting) — Leivick left around 1905-06, visiting 1925. He carries 'dayn shpin fun troyer' (your spit of sorrow) on his 'gelenglikhte bakn' (oblong cheeks) — grief as inherited physiognomy. He wanted to find his father 'Ihumener beker' (Ihumen baker) at the oven 'in frostikn khoydesh in Kislev' (in frosty month of Kislev). Mother at the 'multer' (kneading trough), 'ibergevirter fun heyvn' (yeasted over). The coiled evening with 'grinem levonedikn oyg' (green moon-like eye). Mother 'borves' (barefoot), shoulders 'hoyl' (hollow), with 'oderlekh bloye' (little blue veins) — poverty's marks.
טאַטע־לעגענדע
I
דו, רויטבערדיקער,
הויטיקער גוף, —
בײַ דײַן קבֿר דײַן ערדיקן
שטיי איך און רוף —
איך, זון, אויך רויטבערדיקער,
הויטיקער גוף.
כ'בין געקומען זאָגן
דיר, טאַטע, גוט־מאָרגן —
נאָך צוואַנציק יאָר אָפּשייד,
נאָך צוואַנציק יאָר טראָגן
פֿון טרויער דײַן שפּיין
אויף מײַנע, ווי דײַנע, געלענגלעכטע באַקן.
כ'האָב געוואָלט דיך דערוויסן
בײַם אויוון, בײַם פֿלאַקער, —
איהומענער בעקער,
אין פֿראָסטיקן חודש אין כּסלו —
דו — בײַם אויוון,
די מאַמע — בײַ דער מולטער
דער איבערגעיירטער פֿון הייוון,
בײַם לײַביקן, פֿוכיקן טייג.
אָוונט צוזאַמענגעקנוילטער,
מיט איינעם מיט גרינעם לבֿנהדיקן אויג,
הויערט בײַ דער שוועל פֿון פֿאָרהויז.
טרעט איך אַריבער די שוועל,
קלאַפּ אין אַ טיר וואָס איז אָפֿן.
מאַמע שטייט באָרוועס.
אַקסלען — הויל,
מיט אָדערלעך בלויע פֿאַרלאָפֿן.
אָדערלעך, —
זעט, ווי פֿיל עלנט
עס הויערט אויף מאַמעס ברוסט,
Tate-Legende
I
Du, roytberdiker,
hoytiker guf, —
bay dayn keyver dayn erdikn
shtey ikh un ruf —
ikh, zun, oykh roytberdiker,
hoytiker guf.
Kh'bin gekumen zogn
dir, tate, gut-morgn —
nokh tsvantsik yor opshyd,
nokh tsvantsik yor trogn
fun troyer dayn shpin
oyf mayne, vi dayne, gelenglikhte bakn.
Kh'hob gevolt dikh dervizn
baym oyvn, baym flaker, —
Ihumener beker,
in frostikn khoydesh in Kislev —
du — baym oyvn,
di mame — bay der multer
der ibergevirter fun heyvn,
baym laybikn, fukhikn teyg.
Ovnt tsunoyfgeknoylter,
mit eynem mit grinem levonedikn oyg,
hoyert bay der shvel fun forhoyz.
Tret ikh ariber di shvel,
klap in a tir vos iz ofn.
Mame shteyt borves.
Akslen — hoyl,
mit oderlekh bloye farloyfn.
Oderlekh, —
zet, vi fil elnt
es hoyert oyf mames brust,
Father-Legend
I
You, red-bearded one,
skin-covered body, —
at your grave, your earthen one,
I stand and call —
I, son, also red-bearded,
skin-covered body.
I have come to say
to you, father, good morning —
after twenty years of parting,
after twenty years of carrying
your spit of sorrow
on my, like yours, oblong cheeks.
I wanted to catch you
at the oven, at the flame, —
Ihumen baker,
in the frosty month of Kislev —
you — at the oven,
mother — at the kneading trough
yeasted over from yeast,
at the warm, humid dough.
Evening coiled together,
with one green moon-like eye,
crouches at the threshold of the front hall.
I step over the threshold,
knock on a door that is open.
Mother stands barefoot.
Shoulders — hollow,
with little blue veins running through.
Little veins, —
see how much loneliness
crouches on mother's breast,
Page 315. 'Tate-Legende' (Father-Legend) begins — Leivick's elegy for his father during the 1925 Ihumen visit. Section I: The speaker addresses 'du, roytberdiker, hoytiker guf' (you, red-bearded, skin-covered body) — at the 'keyver... erdikn' (earthen grave). The son too is 'roytberdiker' (red-bearded) — the hereditary resemblance. 'Kh'bin gekumen zogn... gut-morgn' (I have come to say good morning) — the formal Jewish greeting to the dead. 'Nokh tsvantsik yor opshyd' (after twenty years of parting) — Leivick left around 1905-06, visiting 1925. He carries 'dayn shpin fun troyer' (your spit of sorrow) on his 'gelenglikhte bakn' (oblong cheeks) — grief as inherited physiognomy. He wanted to find his father 'Ihumener beker' (Ihumen baker) at the oven 'in frostikn khoydesh in Kislev' (in frosty month of Kislev). Mother at the 'multer' (kneading trough), 'ibergevirter fun heyvn' (yeasted over). The coiled evening with 'grinem levonedikn oyg' (green moon-like eye). Mother 'borves' (barefoot), shoulders 'hoyl' (hollow), with 'oderlekh bloye' (little blue veins) — poverty's marks.
← / → previous & next poem·1–4 toggle columns·hover a line to align all versions