Basque Poetry in English - Part 2 - Izarren Hautsa

Xabier Lete is undoubtedly one of the great poets of the Basque Country. He was one of the first to start writing in Basque when Franco was still around and the Basque language was highly suppressed. He was most prolific in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. After many years of not writing poetry he has recently published a highly praised new book. The following poem is entitled "Izarren Hautsa", which literate translates as "Stardust" and it was published in second book of poems published in 1974.

Mikel Laboa, a famous, and recently deceased, singer wrote a beautiful song based on this poem and I have included a video of Mikel Laboa singing the song at the bottom of this post, which is one of my all time favourite songs. If I was castaway and my iPod only had one song it would have to be this one.

Izarren Hautsa

Izarren hautsa egun batean bilakatu zen bizigai,
hauts hartatikan uste gabean noizpait ginaden gu ernai.
Eta horrela bizitzen gera sortuz ta sortuz gure aukera
atsedenik hartu gabe: lana eginaz goaz aurrera
kate horretan denok batera gogorki loturik gaude.

Gizonak ba du inguru latz bat menperatzeko premia,
burruka hortan bizi da eta hori du bere egia.
Ekin ta ekin bilatzen ditu, saiatze hortan ezin gelditu,
jakintza eta argia; bide ilunak nekez aurkitu
lege berriak noizpait erditu, hortan jokatuz bizia.

Gizonen lana jakintza dugu: ezagutuz aldatzea,
naturarekin bat izan eta harremanentan sartzea.
Eta indarrak ongi errotuz, gure sustraiak lurrari lotuz,
bertatikan irautea: ezaren gudaz baietza sortuz,
ukazioa legetzat hartuz beti aurrera joatea.

Ez dadukanak ongi ahi daki euketzea zein den ona,
bere premiak bete nahirik beti bizi da gizona.
Gu ere zerbait ba gera eta gauden tokitik hemendik bertan
saia gaitezen ikusten: amets eroak bazterturikan,
sasi zikiûak behingoz erreta bide on bat aukeratzen.

Gu sortu ginen enbor beretik sortuko dira besteak,
burruka hortan iraungo duten zuhaitz-ardaska gazteak.
Beren aukeren jabe eraikiz ta erortzean berriro jaikiz
ibiltzen joanen direnak : gertakizunen indar ta argiz
gure ametsa arrazoi garbiz egiztatuko dutenak.

Eta ametsa bilakaturik egiaren antziduri
herri zahar batek bide berritik ekingo dio urduri;
guztian lana guztien esku jasoko dute sendo ta prestu,
beren bizitzen edargai; diru zakarrak bihotzik eztu,
lotuko dute gogor ta hestu haz ez dadin gizonen gain.

Stardust

Across time stardust became life matter

and from matter we sprung, somehow

and thus we live, creating opportunities time and time again

without pause: toiling and moving forward 

all of us connected to that chain.

We are compelled to tame our environment

living in that battle and that is our truth.

and we persevere, unable to stop in our attempt

for knowledge and light: toiling to find the dark paths,

and putting their lives at risk, to bring forth new laws.

Humankind's duty is to knowledge, to change by knowing,

to be one with nature and to establish relationships.

And sharing our strengths, anchoring our roots to the ground,

To persist: Creating yes, with war on no,

Taking denial as a law, to march ever forward.

Those who are in need know well how good it is to have

Humans always live wanting to fulfil their needs.

We, too, are something and let's try to see

from where we stand: Casting aside our crazy dreams

burning the dirty weeds once and for all, to choose a good path.

Humankind's duty is to knowledge, to change by knowing,

to be one with nature and to establish relationships.

From the same trunk from which we were born, others will arise,

young branches of trees that will survive in this struggle.

Those who will build their own opportunities and rise again when they fall 

Those who will make our dream come true with clear reason,

In the strength and light of events.

And the dream is transformed into a mirror of truth,

an old people will anxiously set off on a new path;

all will be ready and eager to take what was built by all,

to fulfil our lives: but dirty money has no heart

we shall rein it in so that it won't grow taller than man.

This poem was turned to song by two artists, the poet himself and Mikel Laboa. I like both versions, but I find that Mikel Laboa's version is superior to Xabier Lete's musically. 

Laboa's version ends with the repeated refrain:

From the same trunk from which we were born, others will arise,

young branches of trees that will survive in this struggle.

That refrain, which leads to a stunningly beautiful musical outro, stays with you. A refrain of hope and renewal. We toil, we struggle, to make our lives and those of others better, to improve our society and our world, and then... then we leave it to those young branches to continue the struggle while we rejoin the stars.

See the two of them below...