Estonian Poem
This is a poem written by
Marie Under, entitled Soldier's Mother
Oma ktvad käed mu pihku
anna,
hoian sind, mu vaprat stjameest.
Pea mul omad jälle risti panna
sinu ja su relvavende eest.
Ntnda mehine on nüüd su
pale--
kui sa läksid, olid alles poiss...
Tule, tule aga lähemale--
ttsinend sa metsades ja sois.
Lapsesilmad!...aga nagu teaksid
nad nii mtndagi, mis ränk ja vtik;
teaksid vahest rohkem kui nad peaksid,
nagu teaksid--nagu teaksid ktik.
Ära seisa ntnda kaua
tummalt!
Mis su pilgu taga--koormab suud...
Kahelt suurelt--Elult, Surmalt--kummalt
oled, ainumane, märgitud?
Let me hold your hands in resignation,
Soldier, whom this mortal strife must take.
Soon my hands will fold in supplication
For your own and all your comrades' sake.
Now your changing face is even dearer.
I recall you as a schoolboy when
You first left me. Come, dear child, come nearer!
You have grown mature in wood and fen.
Yet your vivid eyes are still ingenuous
Though they must have witnessed what is vile--
Things that men do when life is strenuous
And resorts to cruelty and guile.
Do not stand there rigid and unspeaking;
In your glance are things that cry for breath.
Which of those two lords of man is seeking
To command your valor, Life or Death?