DRUNK FROM THE BITTER TRUTH A n n a M a r g o l i n the poems of TRANSLATED EDITED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Shirley Kumove D R U N K F R O M T H E B I T T E R T R U T H A n n a M a r g o l i n SUNYseries, Women Writers in Translation Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Editor drunk from the bitter truth A n n a the poems of M a r g o l i n TRANSLATED EDITED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Shirley Kumove State University of New York Press Lider [Poems] by Anna Margolin (New York, 1929) English translations © 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005 by Shirley Kumove. Introduction, notes, and biographical notes © 2005 by Shirley Kumove Some of these translations first appeared in the following journals: “My Ancestors Speak,”“Brisk (Brest-Litovsk),”“Drunk from the Bitter Truth,” “Full of Night and Weeping,”“Among the Chinese Lanterns,”“Mary Wants to Be a Beggar Woman,”“I Want Angry and Tender One”: Writ Magazine,1995 “You”: Prism International,1996 “Drunk On the Bitter Truth,”“A Woman Says,”“All Mute Things Speak Today,” “Untitled (All Mute Things Speak Today):”Two Lines,1997 “What Do You Want, Mary?”“Her Smile,”“Just Like My Tearful Gaze,”“The Gangster,” “Beautiful Words of Marble and Gold,”“In the Streets”: Metamorphoses,1998 “Full of Night and Weeping,”“Drunk from the Bitter Truth,”“My Ancestors Speak”:Parchment,2001 “My Ancestors Speak,”“Full of Night and Weeping”: Five Fingers Review,2002 Photograph of Anna Margolin courtesy of YIVOArchives. Photograph of Anna Margolin’s gravestone, page xxxiii, courtesy of Sarah Swartz. Drawing by Gail Geltner used with permission. Published by State University of New York Press,Albany © 2005 Shirley Kumove All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Margolin, Anna. [Poems. English &Yiddish] Drunk from the bitter truth : the poems of Anna Margolin / Anna Margolin ; edited, translated, and an introduction by Shirley Kumove. p. cm. -- (SUNYseries, women writers in translation) English and Yiddish. Includes the work Lider and a supplement of poems printed in daily newspapers after Lider was published. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN0-7914-6579-9 (alk. paper) I. Kumove, Shirley, 1931– . II. Title III. Series. PJ5129.MS125A24 2005 839'.113—dc22 2004065682 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This work was undertaken following the tragic death of my beloved granddaughter Merav Sarah Kumove z"l 1979–1989 and it is lovingly dedicated to her memory Cautiously I carry your voices,smiles,grimaces through raw,rushing streets as one carries a song on one’s lips, or a costly ring on one’s finger. contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii A Note on the Translation xxxv ROOTS Once I Was a Youth 3 Mother Earth, Well-Worn, Sun-Washed 5 Portrait 7 Years 9 In the Streets 11 My Ancestors Speak 13 A City by the Sea 17 My Home 19 I YOUR CALM AND I YOUR SWORD “We Went through the Days” 23 With Half-Closed Eyes 25 Slowly and Brightly 27 “I Have Wandered So Much” 29 You 31 “Drowse On, My Beloved” 35 Violins 37 In Copper and in Gold 39 “All Mute Things Speak Today” 41 “With Anxious Hands” 43 Full of Night and Weeping 45 “Hearing Your Step and Alarmed” 47 “All This Is Already Long Gone” 49 “Perhaps This Was My Happiness” 51 From a Letter 53 “I Walk in the Shadow” 55 Poem 57 Kissed My Hand 59 “No, There’s Nothing to Say” 61 “Primeval Murderess Night” 63 “When I Walk with My Beloved” 65 “A Friend Passes Us” 67 “Don’t Think That I’ve Changed” 69 “The Road Is So Still” 71 “I Did Not Know, My Dear” 73 “Just Like My Tearful Gaze” 75 “The Golden Peacock Flew Off” 77 SEALED LIPS Demons Whistled Sadly 81 Out of My Darkness 83 This Is the Night 87 Slender Ships 89 Quietly 91 “Often I Walk as If Behind a Veil” 93 Demons 95 Night 97 Weary 99 Dear Monsters 101 Night Came into My House 105 Hard Heart 107 Epitaph 109 viii Beautiful Words of Marble and Gold 111 SUN, ASPHALT, ROADS Autumn 117 Over Brown Roofs 119 Evening 121 Sun 123 Autumn 125 Rain 127 Autumn 131 Snow 133 Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) 135 Odessa 141 Discontented 145 At the Café 147 Girls in Crotona Park 151 Evening on Fifth Avenue 153 Broadway Evening 157 Gates 159 Through Coloured Panes 161 The Proud Song 163 The Masquerade Is Over 165 Reuben Ludwig 169 Dead Tired from the Burden of a Dream 173 Just One Poem 175 To Franz Werfel 177 We Will Build a Wall 179 MARY What Do You Want, Mary? 185 Mary’s Prayer 189 Mary and the Priest 191 Lonely Mary 193 ix