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about

The original poem:

“The Wax Moth,” compact and effective in Yiddish for its tightly knit rhymes, retains a simple beauty in its English translation, a long-distance love poem.

Der zokher fun vaks-mol
Dershirt zayn nekeyves-reyekh
Durkh flaterl koyekh
Un flit mayln on tsol
Tsu zayn zi.

Mir farmakhn di oygn
Un vern tsuzamengetsoygen
Durkh loshn-drot-papir —
Ikh tsu dir du tsu mir —
Un veysn nit vi.

The wax moth male
Senses the odor of his female
Through his butterfly power
And flies countless miles
To his mate.

We close our eyes
And are drawn together
Through the language of wire, paper —
I to you, you to me,
And know not how

The Poet:
Troim Katz Handler is the author of Simkhe, Yiddish love-letter poems, and co-author of two books in Yiddish and Japanese, written with Prof. Kazuo Ueda for students of Yiddish in Japan. After a thirty-year career as a secondary-school English teacher, she taught Yiddish at summer programs in Oxford, England. Her poetry has been published in the Yiddish Forverts and periodicals. Her poem “Blume Lempel” appeared in Der Bay in December 1999. She and her husband, Frank, lecture widely on Yiddish literature and Jewish history.

lyrics

MOTH
Original Lyrics & Music by Mostly Kosher
Yiddish Poem by Troim Katz Handler

Like a moth to a butterfly
or Sampson to Delilah,
like the poison we drink,
That Shakespeare wine

Two wars as old as ancient times
yet the same food and wine
taste of rice and saffron
but if my blood is lifelong
will I taste you tonight?

Mir farmakhn di oygn
Un vern tsuzamengetsoygen
Ikh tsu dir du tsu mir —
Un veysn nit vi.

Tears are carving lines
Down your face with thorns and sweet vines
Drawing blood and nectar
Of iris and pleasure
From your lips tonight?

But the moth unveils the light
By the smell of burnt flesh (wings) and dark plight
My hairs are shaven
Your ambrosia drained
Our eyes must open
In sleep love remains...

Mir farmakhn di oygn
Un vern tsuzamen getsoygen
Ikh tsu dir du tsu mir —
I to you, you to me,​

credits

from This World Is Yours, released February 24, 2022
Featuring Leeav Sofer
Music By: Leeav Sofer
Lyrics By: Leeav Sofer
Additional Lyrics: Troim Katz Handler
Recording Engineering By: Eva Reistad

Leeav Sofer: Vocals, Piano, Synth

Recorded at Evergreen Studio

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Mostly Kosher Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Klezmer Rock Band - New sound now, the roots music of tomorrow.

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