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,איך -- דיין שוועסטער,

I — your sister,

Work 379 of 440

Page 444. Continuation of 'Yontev': speaker becomes 'shvester... mame... kholem' (sister, mother, dream) — 'alts tsuzamen' (all together), merging identities. Don't miss this 'yontev' (holiday). 'Zeltene minutn' (rare minutes) — 'meser heybt on blutn' (knife begins to bleed). 'Neenter, neenter. Shoyn. Ariber' (Closer, closer. Now. Over) — ritual cutting/death imagery. 'Dek mikh iber' (cover me). Now good, 'nokh beser' (still better). Lullaby to holiday and knife: 'shlof, mayn yontev — shlof, mayn meser' (sleep, my holiday — sleep, my knife). Part VI 'Abelars ovnt-tfile' (Abelard's Evening Prayer — Hebrew 'tefilla'): asks 'Got, ver bistu?' (God, who are you?). Knows who he is: 'erd un khoymer' (earth and matter — Hebrew 'chomer'), named Abelard. Asks where God is — knows where he himself is. Philosophical prayer merging Abelard's scholasticism with existential questioning.

Yiddish Original

,איך -- דיין שוועסטער,

,איך -- דיין מאָמפ

,איך -- דיין חלום,

,אלץ צתאַמע -- *

מאַמע -- שוועסטער,

אַלץ צוזאַמען, --

זע מיין יוםדטוב

ניט פּאַרזאַמען.

אָטדדי זעלטענע

מינוטן +

זע, דאַס מעסער

הייבט אָן בלוטן.

נעענטער. נעענטער.

שוון. | אַרובער, 77 77 --

נעם אַ דעק

און דעק מיך איבער.

איצט איז גוט מיר,

איצט -- נאֶך בעסער +

שלאֶף, מיין יוםדטוםב: --

שלאַף. מיין מעסער.

וצ

אַבעלאַרס אָוונט"תפלה

גאָט --

ווער ביסטו ?

ווער איך בין

ווייס איך :

ערד

און חומר --

אַבעלאַר

הייס איך.

גאָ,

וואו ביסטו? --

ואו איך בין

ווייס איך +

40

Transliteration

Ikh — dayn shvester,

ikh — dayn mame,

ikh — dayn kholem,

alts tsuzamen. —

Mame — shvester,

alts tsuzamen, —

ze mayn yontev

nit farzamen.

Ot-di zeltene

minutn;

ze, dos meser

heybt on blutn.

Neenter, neenter.

Shoyn. Ariber. — — —

nem a dek

un dek mikh iber.

Itst iz gut mir,

itst — nokh beser;

shlof, mayn yontev —

shlof, mayn meser.

VI

Abelars ovnt-tfile

Got, —

ver bistu?

ver ikh bin

veys ikh:

erd

un khoymer, —

Abelar

heys ikh.

Got,

vu bistu? —

vu ikh bin

veys ikh;

English Translation

I — your sister,

I — your mother,

I — your dream,

all together. —

Mother — sister,

all together, —

see my holiday

don't miss.

These rare

minutes;

see, the knife

begins to bleed.

Closer, closer.

Now. Over. — — —

take a blanket

and cover me.

Now it's good for me,

now — still better;

sleep, my holiday —

sleep, my knife.

VI

Abelard's Evening Prayer

God, —

who are you?

who I am

I know:

earth

and matter, —

Abelard

is my name.

God,

where are you? —

where I am

I know;

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

Page 444. Continuation of 'Yontev': speaker becomes 'shvester... mame... kholem' (sister, mother, dream) — 'alts tsuzamen' (all together), merging identities. Don't miss this 'yontev' (holiday). 'Zeltene minutn' (rare minutes) — 'meser heybt on blutn' (knife begins to bleed). 'Neenter, neenter. Shoyn. Ariber' (Closer, closer. Now. Over) — ritual cutting/death imagery. 'Dek mikh iber' (cover me). Now good, 'nokh beser' (still better). Lullaby to holiday and knife: 'shlof, mayn yontev — shlof, mayn meser' (sleep, my holiday — sleep, my knife). Part VI 'Abelars ovnt-tfile' (Abelard's Evening Prayer — Hebrew 'tefilla'): asks 'Got, ver bistu?' (God, who are you?). Knows who he is: 'erd un khoymer' (earth and matter — Hebrew 'chomer'), named Abelard. Asks where God is — knows where he himself is. Philosophical prayer merging Abelard's scholasticism with existential questioning.

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I — your sister, · H. Leivick: Complete Works · Half-Voll Attempts