We present this work in honor of V-E Day.

 

A voice, a voice from so far away
It no longer makes the ears tingle.
A voice like a muffled drum
Still reaches us clearly.

Though it seems to come from the grave
It speaks only of summer and spring.
It floods the body with joy.
It lights the lips with a smile.

I listen. It is simply a human voice
Which passes over the noise of life and its battles
The crash of thunder and the murmur of gossip.

And you? Don’t you hear it?
It says “The pain will soon be over”
It says “The happy season is near.”

Don’t you hear it?

Translation by William Kulik