MAYNE FOTERLENDER (Yiddish poem by Kadya Molodovsky)
foterlender mayne,
ver ken aykh oystseyln un dakhtn?
saydn tsiterike fis, vos filn,
az shtrekes lign eybike un vartn.
vartn, vi a leyb af loyer,
vartn, zikhere geduldik,
az fis zoln onkumen in troyer,
fis, vos zenen eybik shuldik.
sreyfes vartn,
az mir zoln tsu zey kumen,
in sreyfe hot zikh got
tsu undz gemoldn.
yamen vartn, az mir zoln in zey zinken,
mir hobn eynmol shoyn
dem yam geshpoltn.
foterlender mayne,
kalte, heyse, zunike un tribe,
ikh kon aykh tsuzogn tsu akern,
tsu zeyen, tsu bazingen,
nor kh'kon nit tsuzogn keyn libe.
ikh bin farlibt gor in a karshn-beyml,
vos hot geblit, mir dukht zikh,
in a tog a heln,
ikh bin gegangen in a vaysn kleydl,
mit a krentsl glezerne kareln.
foterlender mayne,
heyse, kalte, zunike un tribe,
lomir redn vegn got,
un broyt, un vaser,
nor lomir mer nit redn vegn libe.