A barg-shpatsir in Sveyts.

A Stroll In The Mountains In Switzerland

Gevorn gants mid I grow quite weary

ikh bin in der mit in the midst of my mountain stroll
mayn bargishn veg - and I sit down.
un kh'zets zikh avek. I breathe heavily
Mayn otem iz shver, and my heart beats rapidly.
klapt hastik mayn harts... As I sit here,
Ikh zits un derher I hear a gentle murmur.
a murmlen a tsarts. My watch says eight o’clock--
Mayn zeyger vayzt akht. it’s quiet, but not silent;
S'iz shtil, nor nit shtum. everything around me is breathing
Alts otemt arum with quiet strength.
mit ruiker makht. The air is so fresh,
Di luft iz 'zoy frish, the forest so beautiful…
der vald - azoy sheyn... I am here alone
Ikh bin do aleyn, but I am not lonely.
nor elnt kh'bin nisht. A butterfly twists and turns,
A shmeterl dreyt zikh back and forth,
aruf un arop - and then---
un ot in mayn kop free verses in Yiddish
heybm on zikh tsu dreyen start whirling in my head,
fraye ferzn af yidish... and I want to describe everything—
Vilt zikh mir alts bashraybm, everything I see or feel--
alts, vos ikh ze, her, derfil, - in none other than Yiddish.
un davke af yidish. Es dreyt zikh a vort nokh a One word whirls after another,
vort - and together with fir trees,
un tsuzamen the mountains, the air,
mit di yodles, di berg un der luft, and the murmuring of the small waterfall nearby
mit dem murmlen my entire being becomes filled
funem vaserfal kleynem dernebm, with words of love for Yiddish.
filn on mayn gants vezn I want to stand up and shout, so that Yiddish
libe yidishe verter. would resound here across the mountains.
Es vilt zikh mir ufshteyn un shrayen, And suddenly I remember
az yidish zol shaln do, iber di berg. that not far from here
Un plutsem kh'dermon zikh, az efsher fun do the four Yiddish writers used to stroll.
gor nit vayt Well, it’s getting quite late—
se hobm shpatsirt di fir yidishe shrayber a mol... unfortunately I have to go home.
Nu, es vert shoyn shpet, I have a concert tomorrow,
darf men, layder, geyn aheym. and for the first time in the Old World
Morgn hob ikh a kontsert - I’ll play Yiddish music.
un dos ershte mol ______________________________________________
in der alter velt In early 20th century, Mendele Moykher-Sforim,
vel ikh shpiln yidishe muzik. Sholem-Aleykhem, Khaim Nakhman Byalik and Ben-Ami.
travelled together to Switzerland.
Their walks in the mountains outside Geneva
were described by Sholem-Aleykhem in one of his
cycles of short stories.