I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD
APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding | |
| Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing | |
| Memory and desire, stirring | |
| Dull roots with spring rain. | |
| Winter kept us warm, covering | 5 |
| Earth in forgetful snow, feeding | |
| A little life with dried tubers. | |
| Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee | |
| With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, | |
| And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, | 10 |
| And drank coffee, and talked for an hour. | |
| Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. | |
| And when we were children, staying at the archduke’s, | |
| My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled, | |
| And I was frightened. He said, Marie, | 15 |
| Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. | |
| In the mountains, there you feel free. | |
| I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter. | |
| What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow | |
| Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, | 20 |
| You cannot say, or guess, for you know only | |
| A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, | |
| And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, | |
| And the dry stone no sound of water. Only | |
| There is shadow under this red rock, | 25 |
| (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), | |
| And I will show you something different from either | |
| Your shadow at morning striding behind you | |
| Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; | |
| I will show you fear in a handful of dust. | 30 |
| Frisch weht der Wind | |
| Der Heimat zu, | |
| Mein Irisch Kind, | |
| Wo weilest du? | |
| “You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; | 35 |
| They called me the hyacinth girl.” | |
| —Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden, | |
| Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not | |
| Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither | |
| Living nor dead, and I knew nothing, | 40 |
| Looking into the heart of light, the silence. | |
| Öd’ und leer das Meer. | |
| Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, | |
| Had a bad cold, nevertheless | |
| Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe, | 45 |
| With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she, | |
| Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor, | |
| (Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!) | |
| Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks, | |
| The lady of situations. | 50 |
| Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel, | |
| And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card, | |
| Which is blank, is something he carries on his back, | |
| Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find | |
| The Hanged Man. Fear death by water. | 55 |
| I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring. | |
| Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone, | |
| Tell her I bring the horoscope myself: | |
| One must be so careful these days. | |
| Unreal City, | 60 |
| Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, | |
| A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, | |
| I had not thought death had undone so many. | |
| Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, | |
| And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. | 65 |
| Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, | |
| To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours | |
| With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. | |
| There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying “Stetson! | |
| You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! | 70 |
| That corpse you planted last year in your garden, | |
| Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? | |
| Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? | |
| Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men, | |
| Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again! | 75 |
| You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!” |
I. EL FUNERAL DELS DIFUNTS
ABRIL és el mes més cruel, criant | |
| Lilàs fora de la terra morta, barrejant | |
| Memòria i desig, remenant | |
| Arrels apagats amb pluja de primavera. | |
| L´hivern va mantenir-nos escalfats, cobrint | 5 |
| La terra amb neu desmemoriada, nodrint | |
| Una vida petita amb tubercles secs. | |
| L'estiu ens va sorprendre, venint a través del Starnbergersee | |
| Amb un plugim de pluja; vam parar-nos en la columnata, | |
| I vam seguir anar enmig de la llum, cap al Hofgarten, | 10 |
| I vam beure cafè, i parlar durant una hora. | |
| Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. | |
| I quan vam ser nens, quedant-nos a la casa de l'arxiduc, | |
| Al meu cosí, va fer-me pujar un trineu, | |
| I jo vaig tenir por. Va dir, Marie, | 15 |
| Marie, agafa't fort. I cap avall vam anar-nos. | |
| A la muntanya, és aquí on et sents lliure. | |
| Jo llegeix, molt de la nit, i me'n vaig cap al migjorn a l'hivern. | |
| Quins són els arrels que s'agafen, quines branques creixen | |
| Fora d'aquestes escombraries pedroses? Fill d'home, | 20 |
| Tu no pots dir, o imaginar, perquè coneixes només | |
| Un munt d'imatges rompudes, on el sol pega, | |
| I l'arbre mort no dóna aixopluc, el grill gens d'alleujament, | |
| I el roc sec cap soroll d'aigua. Només | |
| Aquí hi ha ombra sota aquesta roca roja, | 25 |
| (Entra sota l'ombra d'aquesta roca roja), | |
| I t'ensenyaré una cosa diferent d'ambdós | |
| La vostra ombra a la matinada fent gambades darrere teu | |
| O la vostra ombra a la vesprada aixecant-se per trobar-te; | |
| T'ensenyaré por dins un grapat de pols. | 30 |
| Frisch weht der Wind | |
| Der Heimat zu, | |
| Mein Irisch Kind, | |
| Wo weilest du? | |
| “Em vas regalar els jacints pel primer cop fa un any; | 35 |
| Em van dir la noia jacint.” | |
| —Però quan vam tornar, fent tard, de l'hort dels jacints, | |
| Els teus braços plens, i els teus cabells mullats, jo no podia | |
| Parlar, i els meus ulls em van fallar, jo no era ni | |
| Viva ni morta, i jo no coneixia res, | 40 |
| Mirant cap al cor de llum, el silenci. | |
| Öd’ und leer das Meer. | |
| Madame Sosostris, clarivident famosa, | |
| Va tenir un constipat fort, tanmateix | |
| És coneguda sent la dona més sàvia dins Europa, | 45 |
| Amb una baralla malvada de cartes. Aquí, va dir, | |
| És la carta vostra, el mariner ofegat fenícia, | |
| (Aquells són perles que van ser els seus ulls. Mira!) | |
| Aquí hi ha Belladonna, la Senyora de les Roques, | |
| La senyora de situacions. | 50 |
| Aquí hi ha l'home amb tres bastons, i aquí la Roda, | |
| I aquí hi ha el negociant borni, i aquesta carta, | |
| Que és en blanc, és alguna cosa que porta per sobre la seva espatlla, | |
| Que no sóc autoritzada a veure. No puc trobar | |
| L'home Penjat. Sigui aprensiu d'una mort per aigua! | 55 |
| Veig multituds de gent, fent cercles en una ronda. | |
| Moltes gràcies. Si veus l'estimada Sra. Equitone, | |
| Digui-li que li porti l'horòscop jo mateixa: | |
| S'ha d'anar amb compte aquells dies. | |
| Ciutat Irreal, | 60 |
| Sota la boira bruna d'una alba d'hivern, | |
| Una gentada corria a sobre London Bridge, tantes persones, | |
| No vaig pensar que la mort hagi desfet tanta gent. | |
| Sospirs, breus i infreqüents, van ser exhalats, | |
| I cada home fixava els ulls davant els peus. | 65 |
| Corria cap amunt el puig i cap avall King William Street, | |
| Cap a on Saint Mary Woolnoth va anunciar les hores | |
| Amb un soroll mort a la campanada final de les nou. | |
| Aquí vaig veure algú que coneixia, i vaig parar-lo, cridant “Stetson! | |
| Vas ser tu qui va ser amb mi als vaixells a Mylae! | 70 |
| Aquell cadàver que vas plantar l'any passat al teu hort, | |
| Ha començat a brotar? Florirà enguany? | |
| O ha la glaçada sobtada destorbat el seu bancal? | |
| Oh, mantén el Gos distant de aquí, que és un amic dels homes, | |
| O amb les seves urpes el desenterra de nou! | 75 |
| Tu! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!” |
