מענדעלע

Der groyser yidisher poet Izi Kharik iz geborn gevorn mit hundert yor tsurik (1898) in Zembin, a shtetele in Minsker gubernye. Er hot ibergebitn a groyse menge profesies, - iz geven a beker, apteyker, lerer, biblioteker. In 1919 hot er arayngetrotn in der komunistisher partey, zikh geshlogn in der royter armey. Di ershte lider hot er farefntlekht in 1920tn (zhurnal "Di komunistishe fon", Moskve, unter psevdonim A.Zembin). Kharik hot zikh gelernt in dem literarishn institut af V.Ya.Bryusovs nomen in Moskve. Hobndik zikh umkern tsurik in Minsk, iz er in 1928 gevorn a farantvortlekher redakter funem literarishn zhurnal "Shtern", a mitglid fun dem tsentraln oysfir-komitet fun Vaysrusland (1931), a mitglid-korespondent fun der vaysrusisher visnshaft-akademye (1934). Er iz bald geven koyne-shem un hot farnumen di shlisl-pozitsyes say in sheferishn milye, say in onfirung fun der yidisher literatur in Vaysrusland.

Hot men Kharikn arestirt af zayn dache nebn Minsk in yuni 1937 un tseshosn in oktyaber hay-yor. Zayne ksavyadn zaynen geven konfiskirt, ale bikher zayne aroysgenumen fun bibliotekn un farnikht, un zayn nomen aleyn iz ingantsn nelem gevorn fun undzer poezye af lange yorn. Zayne bney-bais zaynen geven represirt nokh Khariks toyt: di froy iz opgezesn 19 yor in lagern - kimat tsvey tsendlik yor fun katorge-arbet, zeyere tsvey zin (Yulik un Dodik) hot men dervayl tsugenumen in a kinderheym (mit di naye familye-nemen), azoy az zeyer vayterdiker goyrl iz umbavust. Khariks almone - Dine Kharik - lebt adayem in Minsk.

Me darf zogn, az Izi Kharik iz geven a getrayer un, aponem, ufrikhtiker komunist, vi oykh an emeser Poet, vos zayne lider shpritsn mit optimizm un romantik. Mir breyngen do a fragment funem zhurnal "Shtern" (numer 5 farn 1937tn yor), vos iz shtark in der gayst fun die tsaytn, un oykh fir lider fun Izi Kharikn.

1. " Sof may - onheyb yun zaynen forgekumen in Minsk groyse farzamlungen fun di sovetishe shrayber in Vaysrusland. S'iz oykh forgekumen a bazundere farzamlung fun di yidishe sovetishe shrayber [...] Der zhurnal "Shtern" iz bagangen a groysn politishn feler, vos shoyn nokh dem signal in "Oktyaber" hot er opgedrukt Ziskind Levs a dertseylung mit a bild. Di farzamlung fun di shrayber hot mit rekht ongevizn, az di khaveyrim Kharik, Kabakov un and., velkhe hobn nit demaskirt batsaytns di dozike sonim fun folk, zoln itst in a gor nayer shayn batrakhtn un ufdekn di shedlekhe "tetikayt" fun di sonim Dunets un Bronshteyn [...]

Mir muzn mitn gantsn bolshevistishn ernst oysfiln di ufgabe, velkhe der khaver Stalin hot aroysgeshtelt in zayn rede un in shlusvort afn fevral-plenum fun TsK ALKP(b), dos iz - likvidirn di folgn fun der shedikeray un demlt veln undz nit zayn shreklekh keyn shum faynt, "vorem mir veln zey tseklapn in der tsukunft azoy vi mir tseklapn zey ba itstiker tsayt, azoy vi mir hobn zey tseklapt in der fargangenhayt" (Stalin)."

Fusnotes: Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873-1924) - poet, eyner fun di gruntleyger fun rusishn simvolizm, grinder funem literarishn institut in Moskve (1921). Khaskl Dunets (1899-1937) - literarisher kritiker fun linkachishe onshoyungen, redaktor fun der togblat "Oktyaber" (Minsk), redkolegye-mitglid funem "Shtern". Yankev Bronshteyn (1897-1938) literarisher kritiker, publitsist. Ziskind Lev (1896-1937) - shrayber, mitarbeter funem "Oktyaber". TsK ALKP(b) - tsentraler komitet fun der alfarbandisher komunistisher partey (fun bolshevikes).

Shaya Mitelman.

Avgust

Avgust. Ikh bin in shtetele gekumen. Iz avgust kil, un durkhzikhtik, un bloy, Tsu ovnt roykhert zikh a shmeykhlendiker umet Un fartog geyt uf dos shtetele in toy.

S'iz luftik-gring in zumerdikn nepl, Fun heykhn vayt mit varemkayt un likht, Se shmekt di luft mit vaynik-klore epl Un in hartsn vert oykh vaynik un gedikht...

Ikh hob nit lang gesholtn un geflukht dikh, Ligstu itster, shtetele, farshtilt... Gey ikh arum in roykh fun tsvit un frukhtn, Un avgust ligt do durkhzikhtik un kil.



* * *

Shtot mayne, genug haynt, Es tut mir vey... Loz mikh nit a shlayder ton mayn yugnt Tsvishn rod, un rels, un hartn shteyn.

Biz tifer nakht hob ikh geshlept dayn mase Un nit gevorfn, nit gezogt dir: neyn. Itster zaynen mid mir beyde akslen, Ikh gey aheym.

Altseyns, altseyns! Mayn shvere last Vert itst tserunen in di akslen. Oyb frier hob ikh emetsn gehast, Ken ikh im itst nit hasn.

Vel ikh aheym nit geyn Ikh vel mayn veg nit shlepn tsu a tsimer. Ikh vel do blaybn ruen afn shteyn. Nakht, un shtot, un shtern afn himl...



* * *

Antloyfn? Ikh ken nit, ikh vil nit antloyfn, Un s'vert shoyn do umeglekh vayter tsu zayn. Es hot zikh der khurbn tseleygt af di hoyfn, In shtoybn - farloshene tropelekh shayn.

Gornisht un leydikayt. Pustke un vintn. Es hengt do a shtile, farloshene sho... Ikh gey, un mir dakht zikh - me geyt nokh fun hintn, Ker ikh zikh um, - iz do keyner nito.

Gey ikh pamelekh un s'vilt zikh mir yogn... Es hilkht do tseshrokn mayn trot af der erd. Trog ikh zikh um, un ikh bet zikh: zol trogn, Zol trogn, zol trogn! Ikh ken shoyn nit mer.



* * *

Ikh hob plutsling haynt dem toyt derfilt Un opgeshprungen tsen trit af hinter. Ikh ken dokh nit farblaybn shtil, Vi derfele farshotenem mit vinter...

Ikh hob nokh keynmol nit gefreyt zikh un gekvikt Mit letster ru fun tsugemakhte oygn, Un kh'hob zikh keynmol nit getsoygn tsu a shtrik, Vi s'tsit zikh hungerik an eyfele tsum zoygn.

Zint ikh hob a bisl zikh derkent, Roysht in mir, vi friling af di hreblyes, Un s'dakht zikh mir - ikh trog in mayne hent Dem onheyb un di ende fun mayn lebn.

Oy, lebn mayns, mayn umruiker fraynt, Ikh vel mit dir nokh lang zikh nit tsesheydn, Un kh'vel gevis nokh lebn zeyer lang Un efsher lenger nokh afile fun mayn zeydn.

Un vet a koyl mikh trefn shtilerheyt, Vet mikh di koyl gevis nit kenen nemen. Ikh hob epes haynt derfilt dem toyt, Un heyb zikh on far zikh aleyn tsu shemen...



Romanized by Shaya Mitelman.

August

August. I've come to the shtetl on a cool Transparent evening. The dusk is blue. A smiling poignancy ascends like smoke. At dawn, the shtetl rises in a dew.

The air is clear and warm, down from the heights A luscious apple fragrance drifts. The summer haze is airy, light, And the heart turns dense and luscious, too.

Not long ago I cursed and railed at you, And now, you lie before me, hushed. I wander in a fume of fruit and blossom And August lies transparent here, and cool.

August l925

Tr. into English by Leonard Wolf



Aout

En aout je suis venu dans le village, Aout ‚tait de fraicheur, transparent, iris‚, S'‚vaporait au soir l'odorante tristesse Le village au matin montait dans la ros‚e.

Tout est l‚ger dans cet ‚t‚ d'aube brumeuse, Dans la chaude clart‚ des lointains les plus bleus, L'air a l'odeur des pommes claires et pulpeuses Et le coeur … son tour devient ferme et pulpeux.

Je t'ai naguŠre encore invective, maudit, Mon village, aujourd'hui tu es l…, tu te tais, J'erre dans la fum‚e des floraisons, des fruits, Aout s'‚tend en ce lieu tout transparent et frais.

Aout 1925

Tr. into French by Charles Dobzynski



* * *

Uciekac? Nie moge, I nie chce, uciekac. A zyc tu, pozostac? Nie starczy mi sil. Tu kazde podw¢rze czern smierci powleka, A jeszcze na szybach blask swiatla sie, tli.

Zniszczeniem tu, pustka I wiatrem zawylo, Czas zastygl I ciszy rozpostarl sie, cien. Przechodze, I czuie: ktos sledzi mnie z tylu Obejrze sie -- pusto, to tylko byl sen.

Ide powoli, a biec chcialbym przeciez. Krok kazdy wsr¢d zmroku odmierza m¢j lek. Tak dalej nie moge! Niech swita na swiecie. Niech swita, niech swita juz! -- Slysze sw¢j jek.

Tr. into Polish by Henryk Hubert



* * *

Ia ne goriuiu, ne liubimyi slavoi, K moim sledam nikto ne pripadiot... Teper', kogda serdtsa pylaiut lavoi, V moikh stikhakh -- svedionnyi gnevom rot.

I ia khotel by pet', chtoby zabyt'sia, I po vetru razveiat' trepet svoi, No kak k bespechnoi zhizni mne stremit'sia, Kogda ne ves' likuet shar zemnoi?

Ia i seichas liubliu zvezdy siian'e, Liubliu kipiashchii vspenennyi potok, No dushu mne privodit v sodrogan'e Igrivyi i bespechnyi veterok.

Ia ne goriiu, ne liubimyi slavoi, Nikto k moim ne pripadet sledam... Teper', kogda serdtsa pylaiut lavoi, Ia pesn' moiu serdtsam liudei otdam.

1925

Tr. into Russian by Anna Akhmatova



Night

I can't at my table sit still. I take down book after book, Turn the pages without thought, without will, And replace each in its nook. I pace up and down the room. I can't write a word in this gloom.

Who has ever heard The sobs of paper unwritten on, When songs want to come, yet no word Can get written down? I can't write a word of my song. Devil knows what has gone wrong!

But the world comes even at night. You hear the snow in the air. And behind that wall, sleeping light, Your neighbour the hero lies there. He is building our future. He Knows what is modesty.

You want to knock at his wall. But it's past midnight now. Your neighbour sleeps or wakes, and all The land stands by his pillow So a broad hand to him I give Through all the walls where we live.

He sleeps. He breathes easily. The night becomes friendly, intimate. And over our high roof I see The stars shine, scintillate. I sit at my table quietly. And calm is waiting there for me.

Gone is my restless night. My mind is unclouded, it's dear. I sit at my table and write The song you are reading here. And the paper sings gratefully A song of thankfulness to me.

Tr. into English by Joseph Leftwich

Sources:

Charles Dobzynski, Le miroir d'un peuple; anthologie de la poesie yidich / Paris : Gallimard, 1971.

Joseph Leftwich, An anthology of modern Yiddish literature / The Hague : Mouton, 1974.

Antologia poezji zydowskiej / Warszawa : Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1983.

Sovetskaia evreiskaia poeziia / Moskva : Khudozh. literatura, 1985.

The Penguin book of modern Yiddish verse / New York : Viking, 1987.

Iosif Vaisman

Tsiter / Minsk, 1922

Af der erd / Moskve : Shul un bukh, 1926. 112 p.

Mit layb un lebn : poeme / Minsk : Vaysruslendisher Melukhe-farlag, 1928. 79 p. ; 18 cm.

Broyt / Moskve : Tsentraler felker farlag fun F.S.S.R., 1930. 32 p. ; 26 cm.

Lider un poemes / Kiyev, 1930

Mit layb un lebn : poeme / Minsk : Tsentraler Felker-Farlag fun F.S.S.R., 1931. 79 p. ; 18 cm.

Kaylekhdike vokhn / Minsk : Melukhe-farlag fun Vaysrusland Yidsekter, 1932. 122 p. ; 22 cm. 2. oyfl. / Moskve : Emes, 1935. 157 p. ; 16 cm.

Kaylekhdike vokhn / Minsk : Melukhe-Farlag fun Vaysrusland Natssekter, 1933. 50 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

Fun polyus tsu polyus / Minsk : Melukhe-Farlag fun Vaysrusland Yungsek, 1934. 61 p. : ill. ; 18 cm.

Af a fremder khasene : poeme / Minsk : Melukhe-Farlag fun Vaysrusland Natssekter, 1936. 117 p. : ill., ; 21 cm.

Finf poemes / Minsk : Melukhe farlag fun Vaysrusland, 1936. 259 p. : port.

Stikhi i poemy / Moskva : Sovetskii pisatel, 1958. 286 p. ill.

Mit layb un lebn : oysderveylte verk / Moskve : Sovetski pisotel, 1970. 286 p. : ill. ; 17 cm.

Ot poliusa k poliusu. Stikhi i poemy / Moskva : Khudozhestvennaia literatura, 1971. 278 p. : ill. ; 13 cm.

Iosif Vaisman