אָ, ווען איך וואָלט קענען זײַן רעאַל ווי דו,
Oh, if I could be as real as you,
Work 214 of 440
Page 258. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Tsum vint' (To the Wind) conclusion. The paradox of 'umru' (unrest) being 'nit mer vi ru' (nothing more than rest) reflects Leivick's philosophical wordplay — existential anxiety as a form of stasis. The speaker's desire to become wind-like, to 'tseshpendlen un tseshtoybn' (unpin and scatter), expresses the wish for dissolution. The wind's response is violent — dancing in the speaker's face, bending his head, cutting his eyes with fine hair. The refrain 'un ariber — iber' (and over — beyond) creates an incantatory effect, suggesting transcendence through elemental violence. The wind does not answer with words but with action, a physical rebuke to the speaker's romantic longing.
אָ, ווען איך וואָלט קענען זײַן רעאַל ווי דו,
אַ ריס טאָן זיך פֿון אומרו,
וואָס איז סײַ־ווי־סײַ ניט מער ווי רו,
זיך אויפֿהייבן, אַוועקטראָגן פֿון דאַנען
מיט געפֿײַף און מיט געוויטער
איבער מײַנע אייגענע און פֿרעמדע גיטער,
אומוואַרפֿן, צעשפּענדלען און צעשטויבן,
און דערנאָך זיך איבער אַלץ אַריבערהייבן,
און אַריבער — איבער. —
איך האָב געזאָגט צום ווינט —
און דער ווינט
האָט אַ טאַנץ געטאָן אין פּנים מיר,
אַ בייג געטאָן מײַן קאָפּ אַרונטער — אונטער,
אַ שניט געטאָן מיר אין די אויגן
מיט אַ שניט פֿון דינע האָר,
און אַריבער — איבער. —
O, ven ikh volt kenen zayn real vi du,
a ris ton zikh fun umru,
vos iz say-vi-say nit mer vi ru,
zikh oyfheybn, avektrogn fun danen
mit gefayf un mit geviter
iber mayne eygene un fremde giter,
umvarfn, tseshpendlen un tseshtoybn,
un dernokh zikh iber alts ariberheybn,
un ariber — iber. —
Ikh hob gezogt tsum vint —
un der vint
hot a tants geton in ponim mir,
a beyg geton mayn kop arunter — unter,
a shnit geton mir in di oygn
mit a shnit fun dine hor,
un ariber — iber. —
Oh, if I could be as real as you,
tear myself away from unrest,
which is anyway nothing more than rest,
lift myself up, carry myself away from here
with whistling and with storm
over my own and foreign goods,
overturn, unpin and scatter to dust,
and afterward lift myself above everything,
and over — beyond. —
I said to the wind —
and the wind
danced in my face,
bent my head down — under,
cut me in the eyes
with a cut of fine hair,
and over — beyond. —
Page 258. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Tsum vint' (To the Wind) conclusion. The paradox of 'umru' (unrest) being 'nit mer vi ru' (nothing more than rest) reflects Leivick's philosophical wordplay — existential anxiety as a form of stasis. The speaker's desire to become wind-like, to 'tseshpendlen un tseshtoybn' (unpin and scatter), expresses the wish for dissolution. The wind's response is violent — dancing in the speaker's face, bending his head, cutting his eyes with fine hair. The refrain 'un ariber — iber' (and over — beyond) creates an incantatory effect, suggesting transcendence through elemental violence. The wind does not answer with words but with action, a physical rebuke to the speaker's romantic longing.
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