147th Nadirism:
Art, sex, religion--the great three-in-one, the trinity, which pulls the thread of our life. Sexuality drags life by the horns. Art drives it on with her lovely whip. Religion is the end, which makes the path bearable: the fire to light the dark and winding way. All three powers are one great, blind power.
Kunst, geshlekht, religye--di groyse dray-eynikayt, vos tsit di fedem fun undzer lebn. Seksualizm shlept dos lebn ba di herner. Kunst traybt unter mitns kheynevdikn baytshl. Religye iz der tsil, vos makht dem veg dertreglekh: dos fayerl inem farblondzhetn fintstern veg. Ale dray koykhes zaynen eyn groyser, blinder koyekh.
148th Nadirism:
Work is the salamander devouring our time so that we won’t notice time devouring us.
Di arbet iz der salamander, vos est uf undzer tsayt, kedey mir zoln nisht bamerkn, az di tsayt est undz uf.
149th Nadirism:
The hills and mountains, dales and valleys show their colors and their fragrances. It is a wager between scent and color. Both win. And when the sky works as it ought, and so the mountain and the dale--then man is silent: why should he speak?
Di berg un berglekh, toln un tolndlekh vayzn zeyere farbn un zeyere reykhes. Es iz a gevet tsvishn reyekh un farb. Beyde gevinen. Un az der himl arbet azoy, un di toln mit di berg oykh--iz der mentsh shtil: vos zol er shoyn zogn?
150th Nadirism:
It is quiet in my head, as in a nest when the bird parents fly away, and the brood is alone with mouths open to the sky.
In kop iz shtil, vi in a nest ven di feygl tate-mame flien avek, un dos kleynvarg blaybt aleyn mit ofene pisklekh tsum himl.
151st Nadirism:
The ceiling was close overhead, like a warning, not to grow more, not to think more, not to strive [for] more.
Di stelye iz geven noent ibern kop, vi a vorenung, az m’zol nisht vaksn hoykh, nisht trakhtn hoykh, nisht shtrebn hoykh.
152nd Nadirism:
In the high church window there stands a brother of mine with a blonde beard, and he wants out and he cannot. And I can all but hear him pounding his fists against the stained-glass window and screaming: let me out I don’t want to be among Goyim.
Afn kloyster-fentster shteyt a bruder mayner mit a blonder bord un vil aroys un ken nisht. Un ikh her kimat vi er klapt mit di foystn inem farbikn kloyster-fintster un shrayt: lozt mikh aroys ikh vil nisht shteyn tsvishn goyim.
153rd Nadirism:
In my friend's house there is a tall, bright-polished grandfather clock. The weights of the clock are three, the face is brass, the hands silver, and the hours carved and black.
Every quarter hour, the clock filters out...a bit of painted time, sings a quiet kadish, and--continues with its day.
Bay mayn khaver shteyt a hokher, geglantster zeyger-kastn. Di vogn fun zeyger zenen dray, dos tsiferblat iz mesh, di vayzers zilbern un di shoen shvartsgekarbt.
Ale fertl sho zipt der zeyger aroys--s’bisl tsemolene tsayt, zingt zikh op a shtil kadishl un--geyt vayter.
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