דורך די קיינעמסדיקע ביימער,
Through the no-man's trees,
Work 113 of 440
Page 128. 'The Dead Watchman' conclusion: Through no-man's trees, not to see and not to hear, drags about the dead watchman with two holes in his forehead. The watchman is already dead but still wanders. 'Hands in the Air' (Hent in der Luftn): A pogrom poem. Hands raised in surrender; the speaker lifted on those hands higher and higher. Fires dance on roofs, in shadows, above the hands — higher. Eyes stabbed in bloody shine look and look; fires extinguish, eyes bury themselves in shadows, but through the smoke they keep looking. Hands grow tired; the speaker with dying limbs sinks from his dead elevated height, lower and lower. A vision of execution or lynching. 'Crosses' (Tslemim): A knife cuts the air — cut in length, cut in width. The white silvered snow is still red. Two poles nailed together with stems and cloths hanging. A chilling image of crucifixion in the snow, the cross created by cutting, the blood staining white snow. Likely referencing pogroms where crosses marked Jewish deaths.
דורך די קיינעמסדיקע ביימער,
נישט צו זען און נישט צו הערן,
שלעפּט זיך אום דער טויטער שומר
מיט צוויי לעכער אין זײַן שטערן.
הענט אין דער לופֿטן
הענט אין דער לופֿטן, און איך — אויף די הענט
העכער, און העכער, און העכער.
פֿײַערן טאַנצן אויף דעכער,
פֿײַערן טאַנצן אין שאָטנס פֿון ווענט,
פֿײַערן טאַנצן אַריבער די הענט
העכער, און העכער, און העכער.
אויגן — צעשטאָכן אין בלוטיקער שײַן
קוקן, און קוקן, און קוקן —
פֿײַערן לעשן זיך, צוקן,
אויגן פֿאַרגראָבן אין שאָטנס זיך אײַן.
און דורכן רויך פֿון פֿאַרלאָשענער שײַן
קוקן זיי, קוקן און קוקן.
הענט אין דער לופֿטן, און הענט ווערן אויך
מידער, און מידער, און מידער.
איך, מיט פֿאַרשטאַרבענע גלידער,
אָטעם דעם לעצטן פֿאַרבליבענעם רויך,
זינק פֿון מײַן טויטער דערהייבענער הייך
נידער, און נידער, און נידער.
צלמים
אַ מעסער אין האַנט — און די לופֿט איז צעשניטן.
אַ שניט אין דער לענג און אַ שניט אין דער ברייט.
(דער ווײַסער געזילבערטער שניי איז נאָך רויט)
צוויי שטאַנגען מיט נעגל צוזאַמענגעקלאַפּטע,
און שטענגעלעך, פֿאַרטעכלעך הענגען אויף זיי.
(נאָך רויט איז דער ווײַסער געזילבערטער שניי)
Durkh di keynеmsdike beymer,
nisht tsu zen un nisht tsu hern,
shlept zikh um der toyter shomer
mit tsvey lekher in zayn shtern.
Hent in der Luftn
Hent in der luftn, un ikh — oyf di hent
hekher, un hekher, un hekher.
Fayern tantsn oyf dekher,
fayern tantsn in shotns fun vent,
fayern tantsn ariber di hent
hekher, un hekher, un hekher.
Oygn — tsеshtоkhn in blutiker shayn
kukn, un kukn, un kukn —
fayern leshn zikh, tsukn,
oygn fargrоbn in shotns zikh ayn.
Un durkhm roykh fun farlоshener shayn
kukn zey, kukn un kukn.
Hent in der luftn, un hent vern oykh
mider, un mider, un mider.
Ikh, mit farshtarbene glider,
оtem dem letstn farblibеnem roykh,
zink fun mayn toyter derhеybener heykh
nider, un nider, un nider.
Tslemim
A meser in hant — un di luft iz tseshnitn.
A shnit in der leng un a shnit in der breyt.
(Der vayser gezilberter shney iz nokh royt)
Tsvey shtangen mit negl tsuzamеngeklapte,
un shtengelekh, fartekhlelekh hengen oyf zey.
(Nokh royt iz der vayser gezilberter shney)
Through the no-man's trees,
not to see and not to hear,
drags himself about the dead watchman
with two holes in his forehead.
Hands in the Air
Hands in the air, and I — on the hands
higher, and higher, and higher.
Fires dance on roofs,
fires dance in shadows of walls,
fires dance above the hands
higher, and higher, and higher.
Eyes — stabbed in bloody shine
look, and look, and look —
fires extinguish, twitch,
eyes bury themselves in shadows.
And through the smoke of extinguished shine
they look, look and look.
Hands in the air, and hands become also
more tired, and more tired, and more tired.
I, with dying limbs,
breathe the last remaining smoke,
sink from my dead elevated height
lower, and lower, and lower.
Crosses
A knife in hand — and the air is cut.
A cut in length and a cut in width.
(The white silvered snow is still red)
Two poles with nails hammered together,
and stems, cloths hang on them.
(Still red is the white silvered snow)
Page 128. 'The Dead Watchman' conclusion: Through no-man's trees, not to see and not to hear, drags about the dead watchman with two holes in his forehead. The watchman is already dead but still wanders. 'Hands in the Air' (Hent in der Luftn): A pogrom poem. Hands raised in surrender; the speaker lifted on those hands higher and higher. Fires dance on roofs, in shadows, above the hands — higher. Eyes stabbed in bloody shine look and look; fires extinguish, eyes bury themselves in shadows, but through the smoke they keep looking. Hands grow tired; the speaker with dying limbs sinks from his dead elevated height, lower and lower. A vision of execution or lynching. 'Crosses' (Tslemim): A knife cuts the air — cut in length, cut in width. The white silvered snow is still red. Two poles nailed together with stems and cloths hanging. A chilling image of crucifixion in the snow, the cross created by cutting, the blood staining white snow. Likely referencing pogroms where crosses marked Jewish deaths.
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