איין שטאַרקערער טראָט —
One stronger step —
Work 208 of 440
Page 252. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields) continues. 'One stronger step — and the upper skin will burst — blindness of dust. Dust of bones, of bodies, former lives, dust of grave, dust of all under and over the grave.' The earth is skin-thin over the dead. The person (perhaps the speaker) guards himself 'not to give a strong step.' When tired from too much patience and caution, 'his craving for the dust of his own body' rises — he kneels at the edge of the fields, prays: 'pukh — pukh — more strength to wait.' (Pukh — breath, sigh.) At sunset, when the sun 'grows rounder, redder, more swollen, shoots out its spidery clasps,' the fields awaken, stretch their 'hairy humps,' call out erotically: 'Assault us, clasp us, fertilize us, suck yourself into our hairy bellies.' The sun as red swollen spider, fertilizing the earth. Grotesque fertility imagery.
איין שטאַרקערער טראָט —
און די אויבערשטע הויט וועט אַ פּלאַץ טאָן —
בלינדקייט פֿון שטויב,
שטויב פֿון ביינער, פֿון לײַבער, געוועזענע לעבנס,
שטויב פֿון קבֿר,
און שטויב פֿון אַלץ וואָס אונטערן קבֿר,
און שטויב פֿון אַלץ וואָס איבערן קבֿר.
היט זיך דער מענטש — זאָל דוכטן אַז איך —
ניט צו געבן קיין שטאַרקן טראָט.
און ווען מיד ווערט זײַן גוף
פֿון צופֿיל געדולד,
פֿון פֿאָרזיכט און וואַכזאַמקייט —
און ס'הייבט אָן צו אויפֿגיין זײַן בענקשאַפֿט אין אים,
זײַן גלוסטונג נאָכן שטויב פֿון זײַן אייגענעם לײַב —
קניט ער אַנידער
בײַם ראַנד פֿון די פֿעלדער:
קנוילט זיך צוזאַמען
און — בעט:
פּוח —
פּוח. —
נאָך כּוח. — צו וואַרטן.
סוף טאָג, אַז דער גוף פֿון דער זון
צעוואַקסט זיך
קײַלעכדיקער, רויטער, געשוואָלענער,
שיסט אַרויס זײַנע שפּיניקע קלאַמערן —
ערשט דעמאָלט דערוועקן זיך פֿעלדער,
שטרעקן די האָריקע הויקערס,
רופֿן:
— באַפֿאַל אונדז,
פֿאַרקלאַמער,
באַפֿרוכפּער,
זויג זיך אַרײַן אין אונדזערע האָריקע בײַכער.
די רויטע געשוואָלענע שפּין — די זון —
נידערט אין פֿאַרביקן פֿיבער,
הוידעט איר קערפּער אַראָפּ און אַרויף,
Eyn shtarkerer trot —
un di oybershtе hoyt vet a plats ton —
blindkeyt fun shtoyb,
shtoyb fun beyner, fun layber, gevezene lebns,
shtoyb fun keyver,
un shtoyb fun alts vos untern keyver,
un shtoyb fun alts vos ibern keyver.
Hit zikh der mentsh — zol dukhtn az ikh —
nit tsu gebn keyn shtarkn trot.
Un ven mid vert zayn guf
fun tsufil gedult,
fun fоrzikht un vakhzamkeyt —
un s'heybt on tsu oyfgeyn zayn benkshаft in im,
zayn glustung nokhn shtoyb fun zayn eygеnem layb —
knit er anider
baym rand fun di felder:
knoylt zikh tsuzamen
un — bet:
pukh —
pukh. —
Nokh koekh. — Tsu vartn.
Sof tog, az der guf fun der zun
tsevakst zikh
kaylekhidiker, royter, geshvоlener,
shist aroys zayne shpinike klamern —
ersht demоlt dervekn zikh felder,
shtrekn di horike hoykers,
rufn:
— Bafal undz,
farklamer,
bafrukhper,
zoyg zikh arayn in undzere horike baykher.
Di royte geshvоlene shpin — di zun —
nidrert in farbikn fiber,
hoydet ir kerper arоp un aroyf,
One stronger step —
and the upper skin will burst —
blindness of dust,
dust of bones, of bodies, former lives,
dust of grave,
and dust of all that is under the grave,
and dust of all that is over the grave.
The person guards himself — it seems it is I —
not to give a strong step.
And when his body becomes tired
from too much patience,
from caution and watchfulness —
and his longing begins to rise in him,
his craving for the dust of his own body —
he kneels down
at the edge of the fields:
curls himself together
and — prays:
blow —
blow. —
More strength. — To wait.
End of day, when the body of the sun
grows
rounder, redder, more swollen,
shoots out its spidery clasps —
only then do the fields awaken,
stretch their hairy humps,
call:
— Assault us,
clasp us,
fertilize us,
suck yourself into our hairy bellies.
The red swollen spider — the sun —
lowers in colorful fever,
rocks its body down and up,
Page 252. 'Lider fun Umkum' poem 'Alte felder' (Old Fields) continues. 'One stronger step — and the upper skin will burst — blindness of dust. Dust of bones, of bodies, former lives, dust of grave, dust of all under and over the grave.' The earth is skin-thin over the dead. The person (perhaps the speaker) guards himself 'not to give a strong step.' When tired from too much patience and caution, 'his craving for the dust of his own body' rises — he kneels at the edge of the fields, prays: 'pukh — pukh — more strength to wait.' (Pukh — breath, sigh.) At sunset, when the sun 'grows rounder, redder, more swollen, shoots out its spidery clasps,' the fields awaken, stretch their 'hairy humps,' call out erotically: 'Assault us, clasp us, fertilize us, suck yourself into our hairy bellies.' The sun as red swollen spider, fertilizing the earth. Grotesque fertility imagery.
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