Mameloshn: Poems about Nature, #3

To the Sun, by Pessi Hirwschfeld-Pomerantz

Translated by Barnett Zumoff Sun, O sun! I’d like to wander in the open fields and drink up the light all day, so my eyes would radiate your light, your warmth. Between narrow walls my eyes look dull. Between narrow walls I speak angrily to people -- the path they walk seems narrow to me. Sun, O sun! Only by your light am I purified. Only by your warmth am I exalted. Zun, O Zun! Kh’volt veln umblondzshen in frayen feld, zikh ontrinken mit likht dem gantsn tog, es zol fun mayne oygn aroysshtraln dayn likhtikeyt, dayn varemkeyt. Tsvishn enge vent kukn mayne oygn mat. Tsvishn enge vent red ikh beyz tsu mentshn. Eng iz mir der veg af velkhn zey tretn! Zun, O zun! Nor durkh dayn likhtikeyt ver ikh gelaytert. Nor durkh dayn varemkeyt ver ikh derhoybn. Pessi Hirschfeld-Pomeranz (also known as Pomeranz-Honigbaum, 1900-1978) was born in Kamenbrod, White Russia and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 16. Her book, Moments of Grace, was published in 1957. MAMELOSHN is supported at the Jewish Currents website and in print by the Atran Foundation.