Eyes in the Big City [translation]
by Kurt Tucholsky (1890-1935)
translated by david raphael israel
in collaboration with
(& thanks to) Indeterminacy
When toward your work you're wending
in early morn
and in the station standing
with woes forlorn
the City smooth as asphalt
reveals before your gazes
in the funneling of humanity
en masse its million faces
two alien eyes one quick glance
the pupils lids & brow
what was it? maybe
your life's lone chance
gone forever now!
Throughout yourr days you'll amble
a thousand streets
how many along your ramble
your face forget
an eye it is a'winking
the soul it is a'ringing
you're reckoning its beckon
merely for a second
two alien eyes one swift look
the pupils lids & brow
what was it? none
turns back the clock
gone forever now!
You're obliged along your sojourn
to cities-wander
you see in a pulse-beat's moment
the unknown other
perhaps it is a foe
maybe it's a friend
it might amid your woe
be offering a hand
two alien eyes one swift look
the pupils lids & brow
'twas what? a page from
the great human book
gone forever now!
Augen in der Großstadt
This is the second in a series of new translations from Tucholsky's poetry. The first was: The Smile of Mona Lisa
translated by david raphael israel
in collaboration with
(& thanks to) Indeterminacy
When toward your work you're wending
in early morn
and in the station standing
with woes forlorn
the City smooth as asphalt
reveals before your gazes
in the funneling of humanity
en masse its million faces
two alien eyes one quick glance
the pupils lids & brow
what was it? maybe
your life's lone chance
gone forever now!
Throughout yourr days you'll amblea thousand streets
how many along your ramble
your face forget
an eye it is a'winking
the soul it is a'ringing
you're reckoning its beckon
merely for a second
two alien eyes one swift look
the pupils lids & brow
what was it? none
turns back the clock
gone forever now!
You're obliged along your sojourn
to cities-wander
you see in a pulse-beat's moment
the unknown other
perhaps it is a foe
maybe it's a friend
it might amid your woe
be offering a hand
two alien eyes one swift look
the pupils lids & brow
'twas what? a page from
the great human book
gone forever now!
Augen in der Großstadt
Wenn du zur Arbeit gehst
am frühen Morgen,
wenn du am Bahnhof stehst
mit deinen Sorgen:
dann zeigt die Stadt
dir asphaltglatt
im Menschentrichter
Millionen Gesichter:
Zwei fremde Augen, ein kurzer Blick,
die Braue, Pupillen, die Lider -
Was war das? Vielleicht dein Lebensglück...
vorbei, verweht, nie wieder.
Du gehst dein Leben lang
auf tausend Straßen;
du siehst auf deinem Gang,
die dich vergaßen.
Ein Auge winkt,
die Seele klingt;
du hast's gefunden,
nur für Sekunden...
Zwei fremde Augen, ein kurzer Blick,
die Braue, Pupillen, die Lider -
Was war das? Kein Mensch dreht die Zeit zurück...
vorbei, verweht, nie wieder.
Du mußt auf deinem Gang
durch Städte wandern;
siehst einen Pulsschlag lang
den fremden Andern.
Es kann ein Feind sein,
es kann ein Freund sein,
es kann im Kampfe dein
Genosse sein.
Es sieht hinüber
und zieht vorüber...
Zwei fremde Augen, ein kurzer Blick,
die Braue, Pupillen, die Lider -
Was war das? Von der großen Menschheit ein Stück!
Vorbei, verweht, nie wieder.
This is the second in a series of new translations from Tucholsky's poetry. The first was: The Smile of Mona Lisa
posted by david raphael israel at 9:00 PM
6 Comments:
Looks like this project is going places! Keep up the good work! I'm glad I'm getting to know Kurt Tucholsky's work. :)
yes, the faces/chances that grab us and then pass by.but sometimes, not--i met my long-term boyfriend on a subway platform. thanks for this beautiful translation.
Thanks River--
me to, interesting to acquaint an unfamiliar writer thus bit by bit, one poem at a time.
Pam--
ah, perhaps you caught a lesson this poet had desired to deliver!
Tocholsky's focus here on the stage & condition of human interaction & perception where relationships are nascent, potential, unexpressed, essentially close to a seed-form, and then his fairly mystical view of the nature of the city: as a place where this condition of relationship-latency is abundantly present (as a kind of warehousing for this restrained phantasmagoria of light soul-interaction), and as being (in a way) the typical (and perhaps a most interesting and notable) condition developed & encouraged by the collective phenomena of our urban environments -- these are quite imaginative notions & perceptions the poem seems playfully to develop & express, one could say.
cheers, d.i.
thank you, david. i wasn't familiary with kurt tucholsky's work, but this poem whets my appetite for more. i like the translation.
one comment: i stumbled on the rather archaic "with woes forlorn" and would have preferred something more contemporary and natural-sounding.
this is a great,,great job! its very usefull for my thesis, im doing also with tucholsky, im crazy bout his poems
Beautiful rendering of my favourite poem, I'm so glad I can share this with my English speaking friends now! Thank you!
Petra
Post a Comment
<< Home