Drunk from the Bitter Truth: The Poems of Anna Margolin

337 Pages·2005·0.9 MB·English

by  Anna Margolin

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