sholem aleykhem!
This homepage is dedicated to offering a selection of the work of Soviet-era Yiddish authors. The aim is to ensure that the work of these writers not be forgotten, to open a door to their poetry and prose for students of Yiddish.
Readers are invited to use the links below to go to the work of the authors that are currently carried on this page. In time, further selections and other authors will be added.
Below, I am pleased to present some poems by Motl Talalayesky, from 1965, and Moyshe Teyf, from 1964. Both poets were published in sovetish heymland, in its time, the largest Yiddish literary monthly.
Ayer, far yidish.
Craig Abernethy
lider fun moyshe teyfn
(a gute lid iz vi a shtub)
a gute lid iz vi a shtub,
avu s'iz do a dakh un a fundament,
avu s'iz do a fentsterl, vos vayzt
het-vayt a shlyakh a breyt-geramen.
a gute lid iz vi a shtub,
avu es vilt zikh lang farbrengen,
iz ven du geyst fun ir aroys,
du vest di shutb nokh lang gedenken.
a gute lid iz vi a shtub
dort ergets tsvishn berg farshneyte,
vuhin a fayerl dikh tsit,
vos vet zikh lang in veg bagleytn.
gute psures
ikh vil aykh onzogn a psure, mayne fraynt:
di yunge malke friling shteyt shoyn hinter shtot
un vart, me zol ir efenen di toyern . . .
un dortn vayt, het-vayt,
ahinter foygl-royshndikn khayel
avu es tsien zikh di doremdike reyen)
es grisn undz ot yene . . .
ot di kleyninke . . .
ikh meyn di dikhter,
velkhe betn nit keyn honorar, --
di soloveyen! --
vos got aleyn hot zey bafoyln di gelibte tsu derfreyen
un zayn far zey a mazldiker shirem . . .
hot ir gehert baginen, vi zey zingen shir-hashirem?
ikh vil aykh onzogn a psure, gute fraynt:
baginen hobn ongeklapt tsu mir in shtub
der malkes oysshpirer -- di shtraln:
-- shtey uf!
un haynt zolstu nit troyern,
du host a lid --
dem shlisl tsu di toyern.
shtey uf!
di yunge malke friling vart,
du zolstu ir oyszingen dos heylikste gebot
fun ale dayne heylike gebotn:
zol zayn far libe ofn ale toyern fun shtot
un nor dem toyt
zol der arayngang blaybn shtreng farbotn!
der rusisher inteligent
zayn neshome hot dermont an eol-harfe . . .
a. lunatsharsky.
ukraine brent. poltave brent.
makhno! un lebn zoln mesers!
me shist in fentster un in vent,
me zshlyoket bronfn fun di feser . . .
aha! me shlept im afn rog . . .
ot! ot! me vet im bald tseshnaydn,
dem shuldikn in ale plog, --
dem altn yid, dem shnayder . . .
--shteyt! shteyt! lozt op dem yid!
(a zokn shrayt, a krist --
mit reyne oygn fun a malekh . . .)
-- anu, bashitser, zog undz, ver du bist?
a baremhartsiker? a galekh?
. . . er klapt tsum ataman in tir:
-- ir zayt a ment|sh, tsi gor a henker?
shtelt opet dem pogrom! ikh protestir!
ikh heys -- vladimir korolenko . . .
ukraine brent. potave brent.
un di banditn koylenen un shisn.
an alter rusisher inteligent
zukht af di gasn dos gevisn . . .
* * *
lider fun motl talalayeskin
erev nay-yor
punkt vi tsu alemen, tsu mir
dos naye yor klapt on in tir.
vos vet es brengen -- nakhes un hatslokhe?
kh'zol zayn gezunt, di sonem aftsulokhes?
tsi efsher -- ikh bin zikher, kh'gloyb, --
nit faln zol keyn mindster shtoyb
fun shvartsn beyz af mayne vegn . . .
banakht, s'iz der droysn shtil,
mit ale khushem ikh derfil --
a gliklekh yor undz geyt antkegn.
vayl du bist a poet
tsi vilstu yo, tsi vilstu nit,
nor oyb dayn harts un oyb dayn lid
iz erlekh un derhoybn,
vet dikh dayn mi nit makhn mid,
dayn yeder trot, dayn yeder shrit
vet brengen glik un gloybn.
genug vet zayn dayn mindster vunk,
me zol derzen dem heln funk,
vos shaynt in dayne oygn.
tsi vilstu yo, tsi vilstu nit,
nor zikh aleyn geherstu nit,
der velt geherstu, vi der yam
un vi der regnboygn.
mayn eynikl
es vakst ba mir an eynikl, keyn eynore nit,
vos veyst fun kleynvayz on dem tam fun mi,
vi mir, iz im geshmak dos broyt dos korene
un lib iz im der vokhediker inderfri.
mit mazl iz im shoyn avek dos zekste yor . . .
baglaykh mit mir er khapt zikh uf kayor
shlist ayn di radio: vi shpet iz itster, zeyde?
di arbet ruft. mir ayln tsu ir beyde.
un lib tsu visn iz, az ba zayn vigele
es shteyt nit nebekhdikh dos vayse tsigele,
un az zayn tate iz a guter balmelokhe --
di arbet brengt im nakhes un hatslokhe!
Contents
To read a selection of poems by Perets Markish, click here.
To read selections from eynikayt, the newspaper of the Jewish Antifascist Committee (1942-1948), click here.
To reach the Yiddish Poetry in America page, click here.
For literary anniversaries this month, click here.
