No monument stands over Babi Yar.<\/p>\n
A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone.<\/p>\n
I am afraid.<\/p>\n
Today, I am as old<\/p>\n
As the entire Jewish race itself.<\/p>\n
I see myself an ancient Israelite.<\/p>\n
I wander o\u2019er the roads of ancient Egypt<\/p>\n
And here, upon the cross, I perish, tortured<\/p>\n
And even now, I bear the marks of nails.<\/p>\n
It seems to me that Dreyfus is myself.<\/p>\n
The Philistines betrayed me \u2013 and now judge.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m in a cage. Surrounded and trapped,<\/p>\n
I\u2019m persecuted, spat on, slandered, and<\/p>\n
The dainty dollies in their Brussels frills<\/p>\n
Squeal, as they stab umbrellas at my face.<\/p>\n
I see myself a boy in Belostok<\/p>\n
Blood spills, and runs upon the floors,<\/p>\n
The chiefs of bar and pub rage unimpeded<\/p>\n
And reek of vodka and of onion, half and half.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m thrown back by a boot, I have no strength left,<\/p>\n
In vain I beg the rabble of pogrom,<\/p>\n
To jeers of \u201cKill the Jews, and save our Russia!\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s being beaten by a clerk.<\/p>\n
O, Russia of my heart, I know that you<\/p>\n
Are international, by inner nature.<\/p>\n
But often those whose hands are steeped in filth<\/p>\n
Abused your purest name, in name of hatred.<\/p>\n
I know the kindness of my native land.<\/p>\n
How vile, that without the slightest quiver<\/p>\n
The anti-Semites have proclaimed themselves<\/p>\n
The \u201cUnion of the Russian People!\u201d<\/p>\n
It seems to me that I am Anna Frank,<\/p>\n
Transparent, as the thinnest branch in April,<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m in love, and have no need of phrases,<\/p>\n
But only that we gaze into each other\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
How little one can see, or even sense!<\/p>\n
Leaves are forbidden, so is sky,<\/p>\n
But much is still allowed \u2013 very gently<\/p>\n
In darkened rooms each other to embrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey come!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, fear not \u2013 those are sounds<\/p>\n
Of spring itself. She\u2019s coming soon.<\/p>\n
Quickly, your lips!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey break the door!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, river ice is breaking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Wild grasses rustle over Babi Yar,<\/p>\n
The trees look sternly, as if passing judgement.<\/p>\n
Here, silently, all screams, and, hat in hand,<\/p>\n
I feel my hair changing shade to gray.<\/p>\n
And I myself, like one long soundless scream<\/p>\n
Above the thousands interred,<\/p>\n
I\u2019m every old man executed here,<\/p>\n
As I\u2019m every child murdered here.<\/p>\n
No fiber of my body will forget this.<\/p>\n
May \u201cInternationale\u201d thunder and ring<\/p>\n
When, for all time, is buried and forgotten<\/p>\n
The last of anti-Semites on this earth.<\/p>\n
There is no Jewish blood that\u2019s blood of mine,<\/p>\n
But, hated with a passion that\u2019s corrosive<\/p>\n
Am I by anti-Semites like a Jew.<\/p>\n
And that is why I call myself a Russian!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Yevgeni Yevtushenko (translated into English by Benjamin Okopnik) No monument stands over Babi Yar. A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone. I am afraid. Today, I am as old As the entire Jewish race itself. I see myself an ancient Israelite. I wander o\u2019er the roads of ancient Egypt And here, upon the cross, I perish, tortured And even now, I bear the marks of nails. It seems to me that Dreyfus is myself. The Philistines betrayed me \u2013 and now judge. I\u2019m in a cage. Surrounded and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,74,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-69","category-digital-exclusives","category-september-2021"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2888"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3155,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions\/3155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}