Tears

I'm not exactly the most bottled up of fella's, but even for me it's rather exceptional to nearly start crying whilst driving a car.
I never cry. But the sadness which struck me got close to getting me there.
Fortunately, I was stuck in a traffic jam, so no one got hurt.
What caused all this was a radio broadcast about the cremation service for Theo van Gogh.
His sister read out a poem by Henk van Randwijk, an underground resistance fighter during World War II.
The last three lines are known to virtually all Dutch. However, I had never heard it in full.

I couldn't find an English translation, so I had a go at it. I'm not a literary translator, nor a native speaker of English, so please bear that in mind while reading it. There is very little rhyme in the poem already, so I've tried to preserve as best as possible without making it sound too artificial. Here goes:

All of us who've gathered here

All of us who've gathered here
The living, the dead
The hand's breadth which parts us is small
We have been jointly summoned
Before the court
Remember the loved one lying here
Brother, friend or father
But open your eyes to a wider sight
Behold the land and people jointly
Hear this word:
We stand together before the court
To elect either good or bad
A people which to tyranny consents
Will lose more than life and goods
Then light relents

(Thanks to Richard and Martin for offering suggestions. Read the Dutch original by clicking 'Lees verder'.)

Allen, die hier tezamen zijn

Allen, die hier tezamen zijn,
de levenden, de doden,
de handbreed, die ons scheidt, is klein,
wij zijn tezaam ontboden
voor het gericht...
Gedenk de liefste, die hier ligt,
de broeder, vrind of vader,
maar gun Uw ogen wijder zicht,
aanzie het land en alle mens tegader,
hoor dit bericht:
Wij staan tezaam voor het gericht
voor goed of kwaad te kiezen,
een volk dat voor tirannen zwicht
zal meer dan lijf en goed verliezen
dan dooft het licht.

21:53

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