The Song Remains – דאָס ליד איז געבליבן

The Song Remains

People of the Warsaw Ghetto merged with a map of the Nazi occupation of Poland

דאָס ליד איז געבליבן

Welcome to our collection of English translations of some of the remaining works of important Polish Yiddish poets who were murdered during the Holocaust. We’ll be publishing one new poem per week into 2027.


Subscribe to our site for free to get a new poem in your inbox every week.
  

  • Dovid Kenigsberg

    Let the ring of every bell fall silent;
    we’ve pondered freedom long enough!
    The sound has come to drive away the night:
    the shofar’s call, boldly awakening our might.

    (more…)

  • Dovid Kenigsberg

    And when the forest turns bright and green,
    and the sun climbs to mid-sky,
    all the woodcutters will abide
    and see the blooming of every tree.

    (more…)

  • Yakov Shudrikh

    Capped and wrapped in a blanket of white,
    the gray boulder—a silent giant—sleeps.
    Below him, hushed and slender streams murmur,
    while along his back tread my feet.

    (more…)

  • For Your Discovery and Enjoyment

    NOVEMBER 1, 2026 11 AM PST; 2 PM EST; 2 NOVEMBER 2026 8AM NZDT
    ONLINE – IN YIDDISH and English אָנלײַן – אויף ייִדיש

    Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ngV2A707SVWyjBrPnyH-UQ

    איז אַ פּאָרטאַל צו אַ װײניקער־באַװוּסטער װעלט ייִדישער פּאָעזיע. 

    דאָס ליד איז געבליבן ברענגט צו אַ װײַטערן עולם ענגלישע איבערזעצונגען פֿון 160 האַרציק־געזאַמלטע װערק פֿון 36 פֿאַרשײדנדיקע מײַסטערס פֿון ייִדישן פֿערס צװישן די צװײ װעלט מלחמות.  אי די טעמעס אי די סטילן זײַנען גאַנץ פֿאַרשײדן און חידושדיק.

    דער דיכטער און לעבן־געבליבענער בינעם העלער האָט פֿאַרזאַמלט די אַנטאָלאָגיע אין 1951 צו פֿאַרזיכערן אַז מע זאָל ניט פֿאַרגעסן די װערק פֿון די אויסגעצײכנטע דיכטערס דװקא װײַל זײערע לעבנס זײַנען אָפּגעשניטן געװאָרן צוליבן חורבן.

    מירי קאָראַל, די פֿירערין פֿונעם קאַליפֿאָרניע ייִדיש אינסטיטוט און די רעדאַקטאָרשע און איצטיקע איבערזעצערין פֿונעם דאָזיקן פּראָיעקט, װעט דערצײלן װעגן דעם פּראָיעקטס אָפּשטאַם און אימפּעט. זי װעט אויך לאָזן װיסן צוליב װאָס זי איז טאַקע צוגעפֿירט געװאָרן צו אַזאַ איבערגעגעבענער װאָכיקער אַרבעט.

    דורך פֿאָרלײענען געקליבענע װערק, װעט זי געבן צו פֿאַרזוכן אַ טעם פֿון די צוציענדיקע לידער. 
     
    (אַגבֿ, איר מעגט זיך פֿאַרשרײַבן (בחינם) בײַ TheSongRemains.org
    צו באַקומען אין אײַער בליץ־בריװ פּאָסט די נײַעסטע איבערזעצונג פֿון אַ ליד יעדע װאָך) 

    Join CIYCL Director Miri Koral in exploring a unique ongoing translation project — a portal into a lesser-known world of Yiddish poetry. The Song Remains Dos Lid iz Geblibn – דאָס ליד איז געבליבן – brings to a wider public English translations of 160 lovingly curated works of 36 diverse masters of Yiddish verse between the two world wars. The themes and styles are quite diverse and surprising.

    The poet and survivor Binem Heller compiled the anthology in 1951 to ensure that the works of these marvelous poets are not forgotten because their lives were cut short by the Holocaust.

    Miri, the project’s editor and present translator, will share its background and impetus for her taking on a labor-of-love weekly commitment. She will also offer insights into her translation process. And, to give you a flavor of the poems, she will read some of her favorite poems in the original and in translation.

    In advance of this program, you can sign up for free at TheSongRemains.Org and receive the latest newly translated poem in your inbox every week!

  • Yakov Shudrikh

    Border guard, in the tenderness of night,
    when fiery stars fall from the sky
    and homesickness grips the heart—
    take care not to fall asleep.

    (more…)

  • Sh. Zhirman

    We march with abandoned joy
    into the newborn dawn.
    Happy holiday, Moscow!
    Bialystok sends its regards!

    (more…)

  • Ber Horovits

    By now, I would be a father,
    bouncing a child on my sturdy knee,
    my nose nuzzled against its downy body,
    as to a full-blown, fragrant rose.

    (more…)

  • Chaim Semiatitski (Khayim Semiatitsky)

    You stood there a long while,
    watching
    for traces of my footsteps
    across the whiteness.

    (more…)

  • Dovid Kenigsberg

    New times are coming – strange new times
    unlike any we have ever known,
    and wonders must before your eyes unfold
    that people will point to for a long time.

    (more…)

  • (From the Book, “Volin Country Roads”)

    Kalman Lis

    Hey, you country roads, my country roads – lengthy, wide Volin roads,
    forever speaking to my heart, forever in my thoughts!

    Hey, you country roads, my country roads, fringed like tablecloths,
    a beauty impossible to paint with any brush.

    (more…)