ליפּן נעגערשע — וויפֿיל צערן
Negro lips — how many sorrows
Work 340 of 440
Page 398. 'A briv fun Amerike' continuation: on Black American lips — 'vifl tsern' (how many sorrows) hang like sacks, 'vifl geduld' (how much patience) locked behind each time tongue licks. Poet feels 'klemung' (squeeze) seeing Blacks with whites; his every 'banemung' (gesture) seems to stab them. 'Nit ikh, nit mayn tate, nit mayn zeyde' (not I, father, grandfather) had hand in 'farshklafung' (enslavement), yet he's 'moyde' (confesses — Hebrew) guilt unknown to them. 'Akhrayes-shuld far felker-shikzaln' (responsibility-guilt for peoples' fates — Hebrew 'achrayes'). They haven't pondered us, though 'oykh mir hobn zikh gevalgert in di shtaln' (we too wallowed in stalls) of the powerful. Their sorrow flashes 'vi a khalifdike shverd' (like a swift sword — Hebrew 'khalif'). Wants to gather 'undzer shoyder' (our shudder) with America's wellbeing, reckon 'di shtekh fun ale kleyder' (stitches of all clothes) sewn in 'griner mi' (green/immigrant labor). Litany: pushcart-peddler's pushes, 'nyusboyis' (newsboy) traces, street-beggar's tears, 'ay kesh kloyt' (I cash clothes — peddler cry). 'Di nodlen in fleysh' (needles in flesh) — fingers thin, needles thinner. 'Zinger' (Singer) letters burn 'vi varnungen' (like warnings) on sewing machine's neck — brand name becomes symbol of immigrant labor.
ליפּן נעגערשע — וויפֿיל צערן
עס הענגען פֿון זיי אַרונטער ווי די זעק,
און וויפֿיל געדולד הינטער זיך זיי פֿאַרשפּאַרן
יעדעס מאָל ווען די צונג גיט זיי אַ לעק.
עס נעמט מיך דורך אַלעמאָל אַזאַ קלעמונג,
ווען איך זע נעגערס טוען מיט די ווײַסלעך אַ דריי:
און עס דוכט זיך מיר, אַז מײַן יעדע באַנעמונג
שטעכט זיי דורך ביז בלוט, טוט זיי וויי.
כאָטש ניט איך, ניט מײַן טאַטע, ניט מײַן זיידע
האָבן אין זייער פֿאַרשקלאַפֿונג געהאַט אַ האַנט,
פֿונדעסטוועגן קומט אויס, אַז איך בין זיך מודה
אין אַ שולד, וואָס צו זיי איז עס גאָר ניט באַקאַנט.
די אחריות־שולד פֿאַר פֿעלקער־שיקזאַלן,
און זיי וועגן אונדז האָבן זיך אַפֿילו ניט פֿאַרקלערט:
כאָטש אויך מיר האָבן זיך געוואַלגערט אין די שטאַלן
פֿון די שטאַרקע, פֿון די רײַכע פֿון דער ערד.
ס׳איז אָבער דאָ עפּעס אין זיי אַזאַ טרויער,
וואָס גיט אַ בליץ ווי אַ כאַליפֿדיקע שווערד,
און עס ווילט זיך אויפֿכאַפּן דעם בליץ אין זײַן דויער —
ער זאָל אַ לויכט טאָן איבער אַמעריקעס ערד.
און עס ווילט זיך אויפֿזאַמלען אויך אונדזער שוידער
צוזאַמען מיטן וואוילזײַן אויף אַמעריקעס הי,
צוזאַמענרעכענען די שטעך פֿון אַלע קליידער,
וואָס מיר האָבן אויפֿגעניינט אין גרינער מי.
און אַלע שטופּן פֿונעם פּושקאַרט־פּעדלער,
און אַלע סליאַדן פֿונעם „ניוסבאָיס
Lipn negershe — vifl tsern
es hengen fun zey arunter vi di zek,
un vifl geduld hinter zikh zey farshparn
yedes mol ven di tsung git zey a lek.
Es nemt mikh durkh alemol aza klemung,
ven ikh ze negers tuen mit di vayslekh a drey:
un es dukht zikh mir, az mayn yede banemung
shtekht zey durkh biz blut, tut zey vey.
Khotsh nit ikh, nit mayn tate, nit mayn zeyde
hobn in zeyer farshklafung gehat a hant,
fundestivegn kumt oys, az ikh bin zikh moyde
in a shuld, vos tsu zey iz es gor nit bakant.
Di akhrayes-shuld far felker-shikzaln,
un zey vegn undz hobn zikh afilu nit farkleert:
khotsh oykh mir hobn zikh gevalgert in di shtaln
fun di shtarke, fun di raykhe fun der erd.
S'iz ober do epes in zey aza troyer,
vos git a blits vi a khalifdike shverd,
un es vilt zikh oyfkhapn dem blits in zayn doyer —
er zol a loykht ton iber Amerikes erd.
Un es vilt zikh oyfzamlen oykh undzer shoyder
tsuzamen mitn voylzayn oyf Amerikes hi,
tsuzamenrekhenen di shtekh fun ale kleyder,
vos mir hobn oyfgeneyt in griner mi.
Un ale shtupn funem pushkart-pedler,
un ale slyadn funem „nyusboyis" trot,
un gor di trern funem gasn-betler,
un gor di heyzerikert fun „ay kesh kloyt".
Un di nodlen in fleysh — es zaynen din di finger,
di nodlen ober zaynen mer nokh din —
es brenen nokh vi varnungen di oysyes „Zinger"
oyfn oysgetsogenem haldz fun der ney-mashin.
Negro lips — how many sorrows
hang from them like sacks,
and how much patience they lock behind them
each time the tongue gives them a lick.
It pierces through me always such a squeeze,
when I see Negroes turn with the whites:
and it seems to me, that my every gesture
stabs them through to blood, hurts them.
Though not I, not my father, not my grandfather
had a hand in their enslavement,
nevertheless it turns out, that I confess
a guilt, which to them is not even known.
The responsibility-guilt for peoples' fates,
and they about us haven't even pondered:
though we too wallowed in the stalls
of the strong, of the rich of the earth.
But there is something in them such a sorrow,
that flashes like a swift sword,
and one wants to catch that flash in its duration —
it should illuminate America's earth.
And one wants to gather also our shudder
together with the wellbeing on America's heights,
to reckon together the stitches of all clothes,
that we sewed in green labor.
And all the pushes of the pushcart-peddler,
and all the traces of the "newsboy's" tread,
and all the tears of the street-beggar,
and all the hoarseness of "I cash clothes."
And the needles in flesh — the fingers are thin,
but the needles are even thinner still —
the letters "Singer" still burn like warnings
on the outstretched neck of the sewing machine.
Page 398. 'A briv fun Amerike' continuation: on Black American lips — 'vifl tsern' (how many sorrows) hang like sacks, 'vifl geduld' (how much patience) locked behind each time tongue licks. Poet feels 'klemung' (squeeze) seeing Blacks with whites; his every 'banemung' (gesture) seems to stab them. 'Nit ikh, nit mayn tate, nit mayn zeyde' (not I, father, grandfather) had hand in 'farshklafung' (enslavement), yet he's 'moyde' (confesses — Hebrew) guilt unknown to them. 'Akhrayes-shuld far felker-shikzaln' (responsibility-guilt for peoples' fates — Hebrew 'achrayes'). They haven't pondered us, though 'oykh mir hobn zikh gevalgert in di shtaln' (we too wallowed in stalls) of the powerful. Their sorrow flashes 'vi a khalifdike shverd' (like a swift sword — Hebrew 'khalif'). Wants to gather 'undzer shoyder' (our shudder) with America's wellbeing, reckon 'di shtekh fun ale kleyder' (stitches of all clothes) sewn in 'griner mi' (green/immigrant labor). Litany: pushcart-peddler's pushes, 'nyusboyis' (newsboy) traces, street-beggar's tears, 'ay kesh kloyt' (I cash clothes — peddler cry). 'Di nodlen in fleysh' (needles in flesh) — fingers thin, needles thinner. 'Zinger' (Singer) letters burn 'vi varnungen' (like warnings) on sewing machine's neck — brand name becomes symbol of immigrant labor.
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