Az idő lázas igyekezettel rúg belém
Elgáncsol mintha utálna.
A minap kérdem is anyámtól
Ugyan mi ez a sebtelen
Mégis oly eleven fájdalom?
Semmi!
Semmi?
Akkor hát hogy lehet....
Itt aztán csendre intett s kérte
A semmit halasszuk el délre.
For lunch
(Translated by Ágnes Megyeri)
Time is kicking me anxiously
Tripping me up as if it hated me.
So I asked mother the other day
What is this woundless
Yet such alive pain after all?
Nothing!
Nothing?
Then how could it be…
She shushed me here and asked for
Postponing the nothing by noon.
…de előbb
ezennel letiltom magamat. ezentúl minden szabad.
tóba lépni. vízen járni. fellegeket átrendezni.
jókedvűnek lenni. kiszállni a koporsóból.
kábelek nélkül feltöltődni. virágot kiegyenesíteni.
csuklóig nyúlni a napba. fogni egy marék fényt.
nyelvre venni az Istent. megízlelni a betűit.
integetni angyaloknak. csókra kelni. elrepülni.
földön hasra feküdve csókolni a lábnyomokat.
anya után négykézláb szaladni. átölelni a szelet.
kiszagolni illatokat. befőttesüvegbe zárni.
és ha eltelsz? bekarikázhatod a napot mint fontos
dátum. aztán vissza az Addigtológiára de előbb….
…Bukowskival inni még egyet…
But first
(translated by Ágnes Megyeri)
herewith I block myself. from now on anything is allowed.
step into the lake. walk on water. rearrange clouds.
be merry. get out of the coffin.
recharge without cables. straighten flowers.
dip into the sun up to your wrist. hold a handful of light.
take God to your tongue. taste his letters.
wave to angels. wake up to a kiss. fly away.
kiss footprints lying flat on the ground.
run on all fours after mother. hug the wind.
smell out scents. lock them in jars.
and if you are full? you can circle the day as an important
date. then back to Addictology but first…
… have another drink with Bukowski…
Károly Lencsés is a Hungarian poet, born in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, in 1976. He has numerous publications in most Hungarian literary magazines. He has published two books of poems, and his poems are included in many anthologies. Recently, he was granted the Andras Dugonics literary prize, an award granted by the public.
Ágnes Megyeri, the translator of Károly Lencsés poems, was born in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, in 1975. She spent three years living in England and has been teaching English for over 30 years. She has an interest in writing prose and had several publications in Hungarian literary magazines, which created the opportunity to use her language skills when translating Hungarian poems and short stories to English.