Poems Found In Translation: “Bialik: I Know (From Hebrew)” |
Posted: 13 Dec 2016 02:11 PM PST
Bialik prophesies in rage in the wake of the 1905 Odessa pogrom.
I Know By Haim Nahman Bialik Translated by A.Z. Foreman I know on some misted night I will wink out suddenly as a star And not a star shall know my grave But in my aftermath my wrath shall smoke on like a volcano After its fires expire. It will dwell among you so long as thunder rings the zodiac And waves rage ocean-wide. O let your mighty sorrow be held too tight, so tight In the bosom of all the world That the wilderness of the sky, the wilderness of earth, Their stars and their grasses, Drink their fill of it, That it might live in them, quicken them, grow old and grow anew with them Wither like them, return hither like them and blossom again; Let that sorrow, formless and nameless and groundless, bear Witness, unto the final generation, of your iniquity; Let it shriek wordless and voiceless, to all hell and to all heaven To block the world's redemption. And when, come the end of days, the two-faced sun of fraudulent justice shines On the graves of your slaughtered And the banner of revolting blandishment, dyed in your blood, flies shameless In the face of the heavens and over your slaughterer's heads And the counterfeit seal of God carved on the banner Gouges the sun's eyes, When the prideful dance and pomp of the festival of lies Rattles your holy bones down in the tomb- When the firmament's splendor trembles and goes dark of a sudden with your sorrow, When with the stain of your pure blood the sun has set The Mark of Cain upon the brow of the world, The mark of failure on the broken arm of the Lord, When star cries quaking to star —behold the lie almighty — Behold us in our sorrow — Then, then shall the God of Vengeance arise, Roaring with wounded heart, And with his great sword Stride forth. The Original:
יָדַעְתִּי, בְּלֵיל עֲרָפֶל כַּכּוֹכָב ×ֶכְבֶּה פִתְ×Ö¹×
×•Ö°×œÖ¹× ×™Öµ×“Ö·×¢ כּוֹכָב ×ֶת-קְבוּרָתִי,
וְ××•Ö¼×œÖ¸× ×—Ö²×¨×•Ö¹× Ö´×™ עוֹד יֶעְש×ַן ×ַחֲרַי כְּפִי הַר-פְּרָצִי×
×ַחֲרֵי כְבוֹת לַהֲבוֹ,
וִיחִי ×‘Öµ×™× Öµ×™×›Ö¶× ×›Ö¼Ö¸×œ-עוֹד יְמֵי ×”Ö¸×¨Ö·×¢Ö·× ×‘Ö¼Ö·×’Ö¼Ö·×œÖ°×’Ö¼Ö·×œ
וְזַעַף ×’Ö¼Ö·×œÖ¼Ö´×™× ×‘Ö¼Ö°×Ö»×§Ö°×™Ö¸× ×•Ö¹×¡.
הָהּ, מִי יִתֵּן וְיֵ×ָצֵר ×’Ö¼Ö·× ×™Ö°×’×•Ö¹× Ö°×›Ö¶× ×”Ö·×’Ö¼Ö¸×“×•Ö¹×œ
בְּחֵיק ×”Ö¸×¢×•Ö¹×œÖ¸× ×›Ö¼Ö»×œÖ¼×•Ö¹,
וְרָווּ ×žÖ´×žÖ¼Ö¶× Ö¼×•Ö¼ עַרְבוֹת ש×Ö¸×žÖ·×™Ö´× ×•Ö°×¢Ö·×¨Ö°×‘×•Ö¹×ª שָׂדַי,
×›Ö¼×•Ö¹×›Ö¸×‘Ö´×™× ×•Ö¼×“Ö°×©×Ö¸×Ö´×™×,
וְחַי בָּהֶ×, וִיפַעֲמֵ×, ×•Ö°× ×•Ö¹×©×ַן ×•Ö°×”Ö´×ªÖ°×—Ö·×“Ö¼Öµ×©× ×¢Ö´×žÖ¼Ö¸×,
×•Ö¼×›Ö°×ž×•Ö¹×”Ö¶× ×™Ö´×‘Ö¼Ö¹×œ וְיָש×וּב וְיִפְרָח,
וּבְלֹ×-ש×Öµ× ×•Ö¼×‘Ö°×œÖ¹×-דְמוּת ×•Ö¼×‘Ö°×œÖ¹× ×ֶרֶץ מוֹלֶדֶת
לְעֵד ×—Ö²×žÖ·×¡Ö°×›Ö¶× ×¢Ö·×“-דּוֹר ×ַחֲרוֹן יַעֲמֹד,
×•Ö¼×‘Ö°×œÖ¹× ×§×•Ö¹×œ ×•Ö¼×“Ö°×‘Ö¸×¨Ö´×™× ×ֶל-הַש×Ö°Ö¼×וֹל וְ×ֶל-הַש×Ö¸Ö¼×žÖ·×™Ö´× ×™Ö´×¦Ö°×¢Ö·×§
וִיעַכֵּב ×ֶת-×’Ö¼Ö°×ֻלַּת הָעוֹלָ×;
וּבִזְרֹחַ לְקֵץ ×”Ö·×™Ö¼Ö¸×žÖ´×™× ×©×Ö¶×žÖ¶×©× ×¨Ö°×žÖ´×™Ö¼Ö¸×” ש×ֶל צִדְקַת ש×ָוְ×
עַל קִבְרֵי חַלְלֵיכֶ×,
×•Ö°× Öµ×¡ ×”Ö·×—Ö²× Ö»×¤Ö¼Ö¸×”, חֲמוּץ דְּמֵיכֶ×, בְּחֻצְפָּה כְלַפֵּי ש×ָמַיִ×
עַל-רָ×ש×Öµ×™ ×–Ö¹×‘Ö°×—Öµ×™×›Ö¶× ×™Ö´×ªÖ°× ×•Ö¹×¤Öµ×£,
×•Ö°×—×•Ö¹×ªÖ·× ×Ö±×œÖ¹×”Ö´×™× ×”Ö·×žÖ°×–Ö»×™Ö¼Ö¸×£ חָרוּת עַל-×”Ö·× Ö¼Öµ×¡
×ֶת-×¢Öµ×™× Öµ×™ הַש×Ö¶Ö¼×žÖ¶×©× ×™Ö°× Ö·×§Ö¼Öµ×¨,
וּמְחוֹל רֶגֶל ×’Ö¼Ö·×ֲוָה וּתְרוּעַת ×—Ö·×’ הַש×ֶּקֶר יְזַעְזְעוּ
×ֶת-×¢Ö·×¦Ö°×ž×•Ö¹×ªÖµ×™×›Ö¶× ×”Ö·×§Ö¼Ö°×“×•Ö¹×©×וֹת בַּקָּבֶר –
וְרָעַד זֹהַר הָרָקִיעַ וְקָדַר פִּתְ×Ö¹× ×‘Ö¼Ö´×™×’×•Ö¹× Ö°×›Ö¶×,
×•Ö°× Ö¶×”Ö°×¤Ö¼Ö·×šÖ° הַש×Ö¶Ö¼×žÖ¶×©× ×œÖ°×›Ö¶×ªÖ¶× ×“Ö¼Ö´×žÖ°×›Ö¶× ×”Ö·× Ö¼Ö¸×§Ö´×™,
×וֹת קַיִן עַל מֵצַח ×”Ö¸×¢×•Ö¹×œÖ¸× ×•Ö°×וֹת כִּש×ָּלוֹן
לִזְרֹעַ ×Ö±×œÖ¹×”Ö´×™× ×”Ö·×©×ְּבוּרָה,
וְכוֹכָב ×ֶל-כּוֹכָב יֶחֱרָד: ×”Ö´× Ö¼Öµ×” הַש×ֶּקֶר ×”Ö·× Ö¼×•Ö¹×¨Ö¸×!
×”Ö´× Ö¼Öµ×” הַיָּגוֹן הַגָּדוֹל!
וְ×ֵל × Ö°×§Ö¸×ž×•Ö¹×ª, פָּצוּעַ בִּלְבָבוֹ, ×™Ö¸×§×•Ö¼× ×•Ö°×™Ö´×©×Ö°×ָג –
וּבְחַרְבּוֹ הַגְּדוֹלָה יֵצֵ×
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