Charred Pearls
By Abraham Sutzkever
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
It's not because my words quaver in pangs
Like hands that grasp out, broken, for salvation �
And not because they hone themselves like fangs
Prowling the dark for flesh and satiation,
That you fan air upon my coals of rage.
No, written word,
Replacement for my world afire.
It is because your sounds glint off the page
Like charred pearls
Discovered in a now-extinguished pyre.
And no one - not even I - ground up by time
Can recognize the woman drenched in flame.
All that is left of her now, of her prime
Are pearls charred grey in ashes of no name.
Vilna Ghetto, July 28th, 1943
The Original:
By Abraham Sutzkever
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
It's not because my words quaver in pangs
Like hands that grasp out, broken, for salvation �
And not because they hone themselves like fangs
Prowling the dark for flesh and satiation,
That you fan air upon my coals of rage.
No, written word,
Replacement for my world afire.
It is because your sounds glint off the page
Like charred pearls
Discovered in a now-extinguished pyre.
And no one - not even I - ground up by time
Can recognize the woman drenched in flame.
All that is left of her now, of her prime
Are pearls charred grey in ashes of no name.
Vilna Ghetto, July 28th, 1943
The Original:
??????????? ?????
?????? ?????????
??? ???????? ???? ????? ?????? ??????? ???
????? ?? ???? ?????????? ???? ??????,
??? ????????, ???? ???????? ?? ??????? ???
?? ?? ???? ??? ???????????, � ???? ??????, �
???????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????????,
?? ??????? ?????, � ???? ????? ???????????;
???? ????????, ???? ????? ???????? ????????
?? ??????????? ?????
???? ??? ???????????? ??????,
??? ????? � ??? ??? ??? � ???? ??? ?????????,
??????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ???????,
????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ??????? ???
???????????????? ????? ??? ?? ???? � �
??????? ?????
28??? ????
1943
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