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12:30 May 13, 2011
German to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / H.G. Adler poem
German term or phrase:klagen
In the poem below by H. G. Adler, the word "klagen" is used in an unusual way. Specifically the line reads "Seine Träne klagt die Zerstörung, sein Trauern, sein Jammern." Since the verb is singular, "Träne" can't be the subject of the sentence, leaving only "Zerstörung, Trauern and Jammern" as the subject.
I've translated this as "The destruction bemoans his tears, his grief, his misery." I'm open to other ideas and suggestions. Here's the full poem and my translation.
Die Verbannten
Den vergessenen Weg nimmt Jerimias
In dieser Stunde auf. Seine Träne
Klagt die Zerstörung, sein Trauern, sein Jammern.
Die Stunde ist anders, ernster noch
In der Verwirrung, in der Verfolgung.
Denn es geschieht nichts mehr. Nichts und abgetan.
Und die Söhne und Töchter wissen nicht.
Auch ist kein Volk, auch ist kein Land.
Doch die Verspäteten, Haman entkommen,
Fährt der Befreier auf Planken zu Hamans
Enkeln hin. Nichts geschient. Wo ist Jerimias?
The Exiled
Jeremiah takes up the forgotten way
In this hour. The destruction bemoans
His tears, his grief, his misery.
This hour is different, more serious
In the confusion, in the persecution.
For nothing more happens. Nothing. It’s done.
The sons and daughters don't know.
There is no people, no land.
Yet the late comers, who have escaped Haman,
Are delivered on planks by the liberator to Haman’s
Grandchildren. Nothing happens. Where is Jeremiah?
Using "Träne" in the singular places it on a higher plane than just the act of weeping. "Klagt" becomes plainly transitive in the English rendering, in the German it is just a bit more indirect. His tear expresses a plaint, a lament of his undoing, mourning, moaning (just to throw in a few synonyms, also, Jammer is misery alright, but Jammern is a vocal expression). Just a few of my cents ...
Thanks to all for your helpful thoughts and suggestions. For the reasons given, I agree that lament is the best option. Special thanks to Armorel for pointing out that Träne is singular, not plural, so it can be the subject of the sentence. With regard to your question, RegineMac, the poem does not continue after that line "Wo ist Jerimias?" I suspect that by "grandchildren" Adler means the subsequent generations intent on persecuting the Jews, not specifically Haman's grandchildren. Adler was an Auschwitz survivor. His wife and mother-in-law were sent to the gas chambers the day they arrived in Auschwiz. So in this poem Haman's grandchildren are probably the Nazis. After the war, Adler moved to London where he headed up a group dedicated to keeping the memory of the holocaust alive. In this poem he laments that fact that each generation forgets the horrors of the past (the sons and daughters don't know), thereby allowing the past to repeat itself.
Haman is from the "Book of Esther" in the Bible. Haman is the bad guy, who tries to kill the Jewish people under Xerxes. How can he have grandchildren if they were all hanged on the gallows? Not sure what the last line of the poem means. Does it continue after "Wo ist Jeremias?"
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +10