Two rivers, the Dvina and a small brook the Disienka, circle the town and make a peninsula. In the spring, when the deep snow and the thick ice melt, the town is almost completely flooded and soon becomes a small island. Many houses are under water. Here a chimney pokes out; there the side of a roof creeps out, and there, again, a window, or half a door. The low areas are covered up with water and it looks as if the sea covers the world. Till the water ebbs, people row around in little boats or barges.
Disne has the character of a pretty town. Extensive, thick woods stretch all about. In the summer, before dawn, young girls go off with baskets into the woods to gather berries and mushrooms. To go into the woods in the early morning was a pleasant thing, but just a bit scary. The air is cool and fresh there, you can breathe freely. It is dark with the thickly clustered trees, which throw shadows along the ground. At every step, the feet sing halfway into moss. Every word spoken, or call, goes far and high with a drawn out echo: a-oo! aa-oo!.
When the baskets are full, the comrades merrily return home, singing.
Thanks to all the water around the town, the earth is very fruitful. There are many junipers with pretty red fruit, and lots of gardens with all kinds of vegetables. On both sides of the city there are long parks (boulevards) laid out with benches placed all along the park. In the summer people come there to pass the evening, strolling, resting from their work, or from schoolwork. The park is full on Shabbat
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with adults and children. Over there is an old-fashioned man, resting his beard on both hands, who holds a stick before him, and watches the children racing back and forth on their bicycles. His friendly eyes follow the couples who stroll by him. He looks at them, watches them and smiles to himself. Perhaps he is telling himself: now, now, it hasn't been that long. When he was jung, strolling about, merry, laughing, he danced and .... now that time is over.
At the end of the park was a not very large stage, lit with multicolored lamps. On the stage music played and young comrades, boys and girls, danced.
On the shore, where the Dvina rustles, on the shore of the river one could sit and peacefully read a book, or listen to the water flowing and knocking against the quay.
Disna was distinguished by her natural beauty and also by the merriment of its chasids. In that other chasidic, lovely, joyous town I was born. My childhood and also part of my youth was spent there left behind there. I studied in the Jewish public school and later, in the Polish high school. I liked the holidays with all their customs, I liked the chasidic melodies. Simchat-torah I would stay in shul on a bench with a flag in my hand, and listen to the song of the Jewish householders carrying the torah around the holy altar. Everyone lifts up the torah and gives it a kiss to the mantle of the torah.
I was fond of the town and all the changes of nature. In winter the town was all white, covered in deep snow. Often the snow lay so deep, one could not open the door to go outside. You had to clear a path to the houses, to the businesses. The rivers were frozen with a thick and solid ice. The children, dressed up warmly, went sliding on the frozen river. On their sleds they raced around the hill till they landed in a pile of snow. Young comrades on konkes (sleighs with horses) race around quickly until they are out of sight. From far off a shout and laughter is heard coming from the sledders. Here and there the youngsters make snowmen: gather together big snowballs, put them together and decorate them with balls and sticks. The school children are particularly happy. The students have decided to have a war amongst themselves. Snowballs fly from left to right. All the heads are white from the snowballs. The balls keep on flying till the chilren are properly tired out and make peace.
The winter nights are bright and frosty. In such a frosty night it is very pleasant to go for a walk. Young friends often sit in a big sled and go off from the city over white, frozen snow. The jingling bells on the horses' collars mix with the scraping of the running horses' hooves over the frozen snow.
The white streets are beautiful on such winter evenings in Disna. A thick snow falls quietly down from the sky, covers the joyful young comrades in the sled, and also the horse.
With the arrival of spring warm breezes arrive. The thick snow melts; the thick ice on both the rivers breaks up, blocks rise up on the water and float off separately, till the river is completely clear of ice. The trees put forth buds and light green leaves begin to appear. The gardens grow: the junipers bloom and fill the air with a good wholesome araoma. The little birds who flew away from the cold winter, come back to their homes and fill the air with their merry chirps. Soon little nests will suddenly appear over the windows, with baby birds peeking out. Very early in the morning
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the song of the nightingale sounds in the distance. Or you can hear the monotonous sound of the shepherd's horn, who gathers up his cows from the town and drives them off to a large, broad field, all covered with thick grass. The cows graze on the grass all day, and in the evening come back to their master well fed, nourished, and fat.
A high green bridge over the Disienka brook connects both parts: the larger city with the smaller part, the town "Zadisienka". In summer the brook becomes small and flat. The sweet, transparent water slides over the small, smooth pebbles and the brook wriggles off with a quite mutter.
In the hot summer days all the boys come to swim and the little brook fills up with life. In May, when all the honeysuckle(?) blooms, the air is filled with a powerful aroma, intoxicating, as if you had gotten drunk on strong wine.
The town is beautified not only by nature, but by its lovely youth. Everyone studied well, worked, traded, played in an orchestra or acted in plays, as an amateur.
Twice a week many Christians would gather from the villages about, to bring their wares to sell at the market. The market was a large one. Everything could be sold whose name could be pronounced.
And that's what my home town Disna was like.
Town of mine
Town so fine
How strong my love for thee
And my regret for thee
None understands but he
Who knew you long ago
Your splendor and your beauty
Later to be lost!No, I cannot forgive the murderers, who annihilated, assassinated, my dear, beloved parents, brother, sister, and children, and destroyed all our lives, and the town Disna.
