סאַקאָ און וואַנזעטי
Sacco and Vanzetti
Work 234 of 440
Page 286. 'Sako un Vanzetis mitvokh' continuation. Xenophobic voices: Sacco and Vanzetti are 'grine' (greenhorns, new immigrants), cry the 'dzhingoses' (jingoes/chauvinists) with 'geler sine' (yellow hatred — invoking yellow journalism). They're Italian — cry the 'nordik-mener' (Nordic-men — racial supremacist language). The world's prophecy: Boston will feast on the 'gebrotn fleysh' (roasted flesh) of the condemned — lynching imagery meets electric chair. The countdown: nine, ten o'clock. Night biting 'a tsveytn tson' (a second tooth) into the moon — time devouring itself. The speaker appeals to the moon as last resort: 'loz zikh in fertl tseshnaydn' (let yourself be cut in quarters) — moon/sacrifice imagery. Desperately asking for 'rakhmones' (mercy) and 'nes' (miracle). Final despair: man can only 'faln oyf ale fir un veynen' (fall on all fours and cry) on his own recognized brokenness.
סאַקאָ און וואַנזעטי
זײַנען גרינע:
שרײַט, דזשינגאָסעס,
מיט געלער שׂנאה.
סאַקאָ און וואַנזעטי
זײַנען איטאַליענער:
שרײַט אַלע,
nאָרדיק־מענער.
און וועלט שרײַט:
— פֿאַראייניקטע שטאַטן,
באָסטאָן וועט פּראַווען
אַ מאָלצײַט אַ זאַטן,
באָסטאָן וועט עסן
אין נאַכט־שעה׳ן שפּעטע
געבראָטן פֿלייש
פֿון סאַקאָ און וואַנזעטי.
nײַן אַזייגער. — צען אַזייגער.
nאָך שעה׳ן צוויי אין קאָ.
די נאַכט בײַסט אַרײַן
אַ צווייטן צאָן
אין דעם לײַב פֿון דער לבֿנה.
לבֿנה, לבֿנה.
ניטאָ זיך צו וועמען צו ווענדן —
ווענד איך זיך צו דיר, לבֿנה —
לאָז זיך אין פֿערטל צעשנײַדן.
אפֿשר דורך דעם
וועסטו דעם גזר פֿאַרמײַדן:
לבֿנה, לבֿנה,
צעשיט זיך ווי אַ רעגן
איבער באָסטאָן, מאַס.
אפֿשר וועסטו דאָס האַרץ באַוועגן
צו רחמים, צו נס.
לבֿנה, לבֿנה,
ווי פֿאַררעטעריש־שנעל עס לויפֿן די שעה׳ן
פֿון מיטוואָך דעם צענטן.
און דער מענטש קען גאָרנישט טאָן הײַנט,
סײַדן פֿאַלן אויף אַלע פֿיר און וויינען
אויפֿן אייגענעם בראָך אויפֿן דערקענטן. —
Sako un Vanzeti
zaynen grine:
shrayt, dzhingoses,
mit geler sine.
Sako un Vanzeti
zaynen italyener:
shrayt ale,
nordik-mener.
Un velt shrayt:
— Fareinikte shtatn,
Boston vet praven
a moltsayt a zatn,
Boston vet esn
in nakht-sho'n shpete
gebrotn fleysh
fun Sako un Vanzeti.
Nayn a zeyger. — Tsen a zeyger.
nokh sho'n tsvey in ko.
Di nakht bayst arayn
a tsveytn tson
in dem layb fun der levone.
Levone, levone.
Nito zikh tsu vemen tsu vendn —
vend ikh zikh tsu dir, levone —
loz zikh in fertl tseshnaydn.
Efsher durkh dem
vestu dem gzar farmaydn:
levone, levone,
tseshit zikh vi a regn
iber Boston, Mas.
efsher vestu dos harts bavegn
tsu rakhmones, tsu nes.
Levone, levone,
vi fareteresh-shnel es loyfn di sho'n
fun mitvokh dem tsentn.
Un der mentsh ken gornisht ton haynt,
saydn faln oyf ale fir un veynen
oyfn eygnem brokh oyfn derkenthn. —
Sacco and Vanzetti
are greenhorns:
scream, jingoes,
with yellow hatred.
Sacco and Vanzetti
are Italians:
scream all,
Nordic-men.
And the world screams:
— United States,
Boston will feast
a full meal,
Boston will eat
in late night-hours
roasted flesh
of Sacco and Vanzetti.
Nine o'clock. — Ten o'clock.
Two more hours in the queue.
The night bites in
a second tooth
into the body of the moon.
Moon, moon.
There's no one to turn to —
I turn to you, moon —
let yourself be cut into quarters.
Perhaps through this
you will avoid the sentence:
moon, moon,
scatter yourself like rain
over Boston, Mass.
perhaps you will move the heart
to mercy, to miracle.
Moon, moon,
how treacherously-fast run the hours
of Wednesday the tenth.
And man can do nothing today,
except fall on all fours and cry
on his own wreck, on the recognized one. —
Page 286. 'Sako un Vanzetis mitvokh' continuation. Xenophobic voices: Sacco and Vanzetti are 'grine' (greenhorns, new immigrants), cry the 'dzhingoses' (jingoes/chauvinists) with 'geler sine' (yellow hatred — invoking yellow journalism). They're Italian — cry the 'nordik-mener' (Nordic-men — racial supremacist language). The world's prophecy: Boston will feast on the 'gebrotn fleysh' (roasted flesh) of the condemned — lynching imagery meets electric chair. The countdown: nine, ten o'clock. Night biting 'a tsveytn tson' (a second tooth) into the moon — time devouring itself. The speaker appeals to the moon as last resort: 'loz zikh in fertl tseshnaydn' (let yourself be cut in quarters) — moon/sacrifice imagery. Desperately asking for 'rakhmones' (mercy) and 'nes' (miracle). Final despair: man can only 'faln oyf ale fir un veynen' (fall on all fours and cry) on his own recognized brokenness.
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