Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya Molodowsky

Olke

Olke In the back streets of Warsaw, at the end of desire, A yard filled with mire, There lives Olke With her blue parasol-ke.43 Her father's a blacksmith, Her mother boils peas. The roof tilts aslant; in a hollow Beneath the roof lives a swallow. In the house, a table and a bed, And a garret hung with laundry, a washshed. And spoons and plates, pitchers, pans, and a pot, And a baby on its cot. And this girl Olke With her blue parasol-ke. A maid, six years old,44 With hair like spun-gold. Outside it's bright and mellow, And the sand is yellow, Olke picks up some sand to knead— She wants to invite her friends in for bread. But her mother yells to the maid So that the window panes quake, 181 ,]ywyna cs 182 And her father, the blacksmith, then Joins in: "Get into the house! Little brother needs rocking, Pots and pitchers need washing. Water needs bringing, Shirts need rinsing, Potatoes need peeling, Stories need telling. A little to read, A little to write— Remember, I'll drive you out of the house tonight." When Olke goes to bring Water for shirt-rinsing, She sees: Geese walking: The goose walks proud and fine,45 And the goslings in a line, Feathers of white, Feet of red, Then comes the gander, that noodlehead.46 Right then and there, Olke Opens up her blue parasol-ke, And she has a roof and a house And geese numerous. Olke wants to walk with the geese all the way Until the sun sets at the end of the day. 183 /ma H yaxa H »§n ,mw x tnytrx oy TX ,pxn ijn fx rx oy S x ^ x ypVxoxnxs y^a H 184 But her mother yells to the maid So that the window panes quake, And her father, the blacksmith, then Joins in: "Get into the house! It's the workaday week, There's kasha to cook, Wood to split, Matches to be lit, A baby to hold, Diapers to fold, A little to read, A little to write— Remember, I'll drive you out of the house tonight." When Olke goes out to split the wood, To hold the child, She sees: Birds flying In a line as long as a train And, above them, an airplane. Wings of white, Birds up high, And above them clouds, Like blue smoke in the sky. Right then and there, Olke Opens up her blue parasol-ke, 185 1*n x px faws px s oy TX "n , | r n Djnxs ypVx px •DXS X t?T 186 And she has a roof and a house And birds numerous. Olke wants to stand there stock-still Until the sun sets over the hill. But her mother yells to the maid So that the window panes quake, And her father, the blacksmith, then Joins in: "Get into the house! Socks need darning, Thread needs turning,47 Knots need tying,48 Buttons need sewing, A little to read, A little to write— Remember, I'll drive you out of the house tonight." When Olke unwinds some thread To sew on buttons, Suddenly the buttons spill down And strew themselves all across the town. Each button turns into a wheel, And the wheels begin to dance a reel.49 One of them races across the cobbles, Rolling as fast as a runaway barrel. 187 x ly •t?jni x pi> ijnjn mi ,pxn x px ijnsn T§ •pxn x px 7T mxsttfjttr^x x px motr; x n t:xn •To x njnyi px ,p*w XT jrp^x ^n TX 3 px ,psnn nyiyi px •]83 j;:ix^ x DDX^ px j?jni8 t:"IXD yj?^X pX ,]X3 H OS^O pX 188 Two spin a bicycle, straight and narrow, Three wheels on a plank make a wheelbarrow, Four wheels get themselves into a brawl And harness themselves as a wagon to haul. Right then and there, Olke Opens up her blue parasol-ke, And she has a roof and a house And wheels numerous. Olke wants to stand there stock-still Until the sun sets over the...