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Yehuda Amichai: "The lips of dead men..." (From Hebrew)

"The lips of dead men..."
By Yehuda Amichai
Translated by A.Z. Foreman

The lips of dead men whispered thoughtlessly
A single word of silence in the earth.
Already every flower, every tree
Has wildly overdone its springtime birth.

Bandages are torn off, again undressed
The earth does not want healing. It wants pain.
Spring is not peace at all. Spring is not rest
At all. Spring is enemy terrain. 

We went with other lovers on patrol
To see if we could reach our goal.
We were sent to the End of Rainbow Land, 

Though we already knew: the dead return;
Though we already knew: the storm is borne
Out of a young girl's open hand.

The Original:

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????? ?????

???????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????????
??????????, ??????? ????? ???????,
??????? ???????????, ?????? ???? ?????,
?????????? ???????? ?????????????.

???????????????? ????? ?????????? ???????,
????????? ??????? ?????? ????????, ?????? ??????.
?????????? ????????? ??????, ??? ???????,
?????????? ???? ????? ????????.

???????????? ??? ??????? ???????????, 
????????? ??? ?????-?????-??????,
???????? ????? ???????? ????????.

??????? ?????????, ????????? ???????,
??????? ?????????, ???? ??????????
??????? ???????? ??????? ???????. 

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