יט
YT
Work 164 of 440
Page 204. 'Di Shtal' Section YT — the song of the stars (poem's conclusion): The stars and moonbeams sing to the fugitive: 'Opened lashes, full-eyed glow — soak us in, soak us in.' The night is wrapped in strange secrets — 'all eyes closed.' The light-beams wander, search 'in sorrow and lament for an open lid' — for someone whose eyes are open to receive them. They ask the roads, the forests — silence. They ask the streets, the dusty floor — silence still. 'To us not understandable, we do not know when — what happened here.' The celestial lights don't understand the human tragedy below; they only seek an open eye to enter. The refrain returns: 'Opened lashes — full-eyed glow — soak us in.' The poem ends with the younger brother as the sole surviving witness, his open eyes receiving the light that for others came too late. This concludes 'Di Shtal' — one of Leivick's most powerful pogrom testimonies, moving from atrocity through escape to mystical consolation.
יט
צעעפֿנטע ברעמען,
פֿול־אויגיקע שײַן —
זאַפֿט אונדז אַרײַן,
זאַפֿט אונדז אַרײַן.
אין סודות אין מאָדנע
געהילט איז די נאַכט —
אַלע אויגן פֿאַרמאַכט,
אַלע אויגן פֿאַרמאַכט.
מיר בלאָנדזשען, מיר זוכן
אין טרויער און קלאָג
אַן אָפֿענע ברעם,
אַן אָפֿענע ברעם.
מיר פֿרעגן די שליאַכן,
די וועלדער אַרום —
שווײַגן זיי שטום,
שווײַגן זיי שטום.
מיר פֿרעגן די גאַסן,
דעם שטויביקן דיל —
שווײַגן זיי שטיל,
שווײַגן זיי שטיל.
פֿאַר אונדז נישט פֿאַרשטענדלעך,
מיר ווייסן נישט ווען —
וואָס דאָ איז געשען,
וואָס דאָ איז געשען.
צעעפֿנטע ברעמען —
פֿול־אויגיקע שײַן —
זאַפֿט אונדז אַרײַן,
זאַפֿט אונדז אַרײַן.
YT
Tseefnte bremen,
ful-oygike shayn —
zaft undz arayn,
zaft undz arayn.
In soydes in modne
gehilt iz di nakht —
ale oygn farmakht,
ale oygn farmakht.
Mir blondzhen, mir zukhn
in troyer un klog
an ofene brem,
an ofene brem.
Mir fregn di shlyakhn,
di velder arum —
shvaygn zey shtum,
shvaygn zey shtum.
Mir fregn di gasn,
dem shtoybikn dil —
shvaygn zey shtil,
shvaygn zey shtil.
Far undz nisht farshtendlekh,
mir veysn nisht ven —
vos do iz geshen,
vos do iz geshen.
Tseefnte bremen —
ful-oygike shayn —
zaft undz arayn,
zaft undz arayn.
YT
Opened lashes,
full-eyed glow —
soak us in,
soak us in.
In secrets, in strangeness
wrapped is the night —
all eyes closed,
all eyes closed.
We wander, we search
in sorrow and lament
for an open lid,
an open lid.
We ask the roads,
the forests around —
they are silent mute,
they are silent mute.
We ask the streets,
the dusty floor —
they are silent still,
they are silent still.
To us not understandable,
we do not know when —
what happened here,
what happened here.
Opened lashes —
full-eyed glow —
soak us in,
soak us in.
Page 204. 'Di Shtal' Section YT — the song of the stars (poem's conclusion): The stars and moonbeams sing to the fugitive: 'Opened lashes, full-eyed glow — soak us in, soak us in.' The night is wrapped in strange secrets — 'all eyes closed.' The light-beams wander, search 'in sorrow and lament for an open lid' — for someone whose eyes are open to receive them. They ask the roads, the forests — silence. They ask the streets, the dusty floor — silence still. 'To us not understandable, we do not know when — what happened here.' The celestial lights don't understand the human tragedy below; they only seek an open eye to enter. The refrain returns: 'Opened lashes — full-eyed glow — soak us in.' The poem ends with the younger brother as the sole surviving witness, his open eyes receiving the light that for others came too late. This concludes 'Di Shtal' — one of Leivick's most powerful pogrom testimonies, moving from atrocity through escape to mystical consolation.
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