Vayl ikh bin a tsvayg
[Because I am a branch]
by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman
[See lectures: The Golden Peacock; Tree of Life]
| Loz mir mayn kholem, shenk mir di ru, | Leave me alone, my dream, send me rest, |
| Loz nor der vint farvign mayn sho, | Let the wind cradle me, |
| Vayl ikh bin aleyn, an aleyniker tsvayg, | Because I am alone, a lonesome branch, |
| Der boym hot farloyrn zayn vortsl un shvayg. | The tree has lost its root and is silent. |
| Un mir vilt zikh fort aroyf oyfn boym, | And it wants to make me go up in the the tree |
| Tsegrinen di bleter, tsetreyslen di kroyn, | To make the leaves green, to tussle its crown, |
| Un mir glust zikh davke vi a foygl tsum nest | While I wish to fly to where I came from, just as |
| Tsu flien tsum shtam, zayn im a treyst. | a bird flies to its nest, and to console it. |
| Un vi a foygl kh'volt flien het hoykh | And like a bird I wish to fly far and high, |
| Tselozn mayn kol s'zol, di khmares adurkh. | My voice will be released, through the clouds, |
| Un vi di pave fun altn lid | And like the peacock of the old song |
| Kh'vel zukhn di gildene feder vos flit. | I will look for the golden feather which has flown. |
| Un plutsem derzeh ikh, tsi trakht zikh mir oys, | And suddenly I see, or do I imagine, |
| Se kumen on feygl un makht es vays, | Birds coming and making it white, |
| Vi groys di flater mit poyk un tromet | How great is the ceremony, with drums and trumpets, |
| Tsegrinen di bleter af simkhe af freyd. | The leaves are green with joy and mirth. |
| To loz mir mayn kholem, s'iz haynt mayn vor, | So leave me my dream, it is now my truth, |
| Loz mir mayn shvign, der letstn fun dor, | Let me, the last of my generation, be silent, |
| Vayl ikh bin a tsvayg fun an altn boym, | Because I am a branch of an old tree, |
| Un ikh vil se zol krign un tsitern mayn kol. | And I want my voice to be accepted and to resonate. |