Guten Shabbes! 

If words will not drip

from the tip

of my pen,

Then where else might I go,

and furthermore when,

If I’m feeling

such woe?

Amen!

Guten Schabbes!²⁸

Wenn keine Wörter mehr tropfen

von der Spitze²⁹

meiner Feder,

Wohin mich sonst wenden,

wohin Gebete senden,³⁰

Wenn ich solche

Zores hab?³¹

Amen! 

²⁸ The title of this poem is Yiddish. « Guten Schabbes » means « Good Sabbath, » which is the traditional greeting amongst Ashkenazi Jews on the holy day of Saturday. In the orthodox tradition, working is prohibited on Saturday. This includes writing, which was originally the work of scribes, students, and scholars. This poem was originally presented at the Jewish Street Festival in Vienna, Austria.

²⁹ The poem plays with the dilemma that may have presented itself to orthodox Jews, who wished to write on the holy day, but did not want to « break the rules. » The German words « tropfen » and « Spitze » literally translate into « drip » and « tip, » which rhyme well in English.

³⁰ The second verse of the German original rhymes « wenden » (to turn to) and « senden » (to send). The English translation compensates for this couplet with a completely different rhyme scheme: aab, cb, dc, b. In contrast, the German rhyme scheme is: abc, dd, ef, d, where « Amen » is rhymed, as it also is in the English version.

³¹ « Zores » is the Yiddish word for sorrows, worries or woe.