The Eighth Tribe, 1978 (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-02-01 / 2. szám
Page 14 THE EIGHTH TRIBE February, 1978 ST, STEPHEN'S PATRIMONIAL ("ROYAL") ESTATES AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH I Under Royal Administration I ••'••••-I Mostly Under Royal Administration Michael Tompa (1817-1868) THE BIRD TO ITS BROOD How long, ye birds, on this sere bough Will ye sit mute, as though in tears? Not quite forgotten yet are now The songs I taught ye, surely, dears; But if for aye are vanished quite Your former cheer, your song so gay, A sad and wishful tune recite— Oh, children, sing to me, I pray! A storm has raged; our rocks apart Are rent: glad shade you cannot find; And are ye mute, about to start And leavae your mother sad behind? In other climes new songs are heard Where none would understand your lay, Though empty is your home and bared Yet, children, sing to me, I pray! In memory of this hallowed bower, Shady and green, call forth a strain, And greet the time when soon in flower These barren fields shall bloom again; So, at your song, anew shall life Wend quickly over this plain, its way, Sweetening the day with sorrow rife— Oh, children, sing to me, I pray! Here in the tree is the old nest Where you were cherished times gone by; Return to it, and therein rest, Albeit among the clouds you fly; Now that the storm has laid it bare, Would you the traits of men display? Leaving this place, your home transfer? Oh, children, sing to me, I pray! Translated by W. N. Loew— Revised by Egon F. Kunz, Ph.D. Based on Hóman-Szekfu: Magyar történet, vol. I, 208.
